Get Back the Tears of Zhu Que!
by Ai-chan3
Summary: Maria Noches has had an apprentice named Mei. She has been trusted to guard the sacred tears of Zhu Que, but one of the tears has been stolen! She enlists the help of the infamous Get Backers, but there's more to this mission than meets the eye.
1. Chapter 1: Get Back the Tears of Zhu Que

Disclaimer: The Get Backers I own not. Sue me not. Speak like Yoda, I do usually not.  
  
Warnings: Shounen-ai (well what do you expect? Fan-girl am I), a LOT of mythology mixed into this. Also a brief note, the backwater legend Ban talks about DOES NOT EXIST as far as I know. I made it up along with the stone tears for the sake of a plot device. Everything else in here is carefully researched mythology. Gotta love Google.  
  
Brief before-story-note: While I haven't read far enough in the manga yet, a friend of mine from school told me Ban and Ginji eventually get enough money for an apartment. So in this story they aren't house-less! Well, apartment-less anyway.  
  
Get Back the Tears of Zhu-Que!  
  
The day had been quiet, which was unusual at the Honky Tonk café. That was why Wan Paul and Natsumi looked up expectantly when a soft jingle at the door announced the arrival of customers. That was why Paul glowered at the two familiar faces of the blond and brunet retrieval agents who stepped in, along with a whirlwind of snow.  
  
"I'm only serving paying customers today, Ban. If you haven't got money, get OUT." Paul punctuate the last word with a noticeable twitch. "And Natsumi isn't going to pay for you either. I won't let her." He added.  
  
Midou Ban gave a dismissive wave of his hand. "Relax Paul. We have money today."  
  
"So that last job went well I presume?" Paul asked, his hostile demeanor vanishing in an instant.  
  
Ginji beamed with unconcealed pride at this statement. "Yep! Ban-chan didn't even have to use the Jagan! We made... what was it again, Ban-chan?" Ginji had never been the greatest at remembering numbers.  
  
Ban smirked, drawing a wad of cash out of his pocket and flipping his thumb through it. He loved the sound of money rustling softly, especially if it was rustling softly in his hands. "Two-hundred-thousand yen." He accentuated the statement by waving the crisp wad of brand-spankin' new bills in Paul's general direction.  
  
Wan Paul let out a low whistle, rather impressed. "What'd you have to retrieve to make that sort of cash?"  
  
Ginji danced from on foot to the other, hardly able to contain his excitement. "Just a vase from some crooks!"  
  
Ban laughed out loud. "The stupid old bat who hired us, I almost feel bad, as though we gypped her or something, the job was so easy. She was pretty rich though." He stuffed the cash back into the breast pocket of his shirt.  
  
"Ban-san, you have no conscience when it comes to money, do you?" Natsumi scolded.  
  
"Of course not! Oooooh, the wonderful thing about money is that money's a wonderful thing--" Ban had begun singing in his giddy joy at having made so much money, but stopped abruptly when a soft chiming at the entrance of the café announced the arrival of another customer. It might be a prospective job for the Get Backers, and in the world of business decorum was imperative.  
  
The door had swung open again and in stepped a girl with another gentle flurry from the snowstorm outside. Slight would be an appropriate term to describe the physical appearance of the girl. She had a slight frame, barely reaching five feet, a small round and somewhat pretty face with tiny lips curved into the slightest smile, high cheekbones and dark brown friendly eyes. She looked no older than sixteen. Her clothing was bright, eccentrically colorful, and heavily layered. She wore a red fleece vest over a blue and white striped blazer, a transparent plastic yellow skirt over a violet and white flower patterned skirt over an orange and yellow star patterned skirt over a pair of white, blue and neon green trousers. Her shoes were a bright yellow and the chunky heels gave her the two inches she needed to not be legally classified as a midget. He hair was cut off evenly below her earlobes and dyed a florescent green. Her wool cap was a light blue and the rim came down to her eyebrows, a fringe of her bright green hair sticking out awkwardly. She was a bizarre sight, but radiated the same sort friendly cheerfulness as Ginji, and her slight build hardly made her seem intimidating. Ban and Ginji watched, perplexed, as she looked around slowly, her gaze falling on the pair of retrieval agents.  
  
"Are you guys the Get Backers?" She asked, shuffling in a slightly nervous manner.  
  
Ban nodded in affirmation. "Yeah, that's us. We have a 100% success rate, but let me tell you, we don't work for free," he boasted the not-quite accurate figure.  
  
The girl also nodded, toying with a strand of florescent hair. "I know that. I don't expect anyone to work for free," she flashed what seemed to be a knowing smile at Paul, who gave her an incredulous look, but quickly returned her attention to Ban and Ginji. "And money doesn't matter to me, so please name your price."  
  
Ginji clapped his hands together in utter delight. "Hooray! We just finished a well paying job and now we get to start another one! Ban-chan, I think the Get Backers are growing in popularity!"  
  
Ban smirked, but said nothing. He was watching the small girl who was staring back at them with a calculating look in her eyes. Now that he thought about it, her gaze was slightly unnerving, as if she could look through at someone's very soul. Ban had a feeling his brown-nosing-the- client façade more than likely not going to work on this girl who looked like she just arrived from mars and only had the vaguest idea of how to put clothing together.  
  
Meanwhile the young girl reached into her pocket and produced... something. She was holding whatever it was tightly in the palm of her hand, so Ban and Ginji couldn't see.  
  
"You guys gotta promise.... You guys gotta promise not to take it if I show it to you."  
  
Ban and Ginji exchanged glances, then their turned back to the bizarre girl.  
  
"Right, we promise we won't take it." Ban said reassuringly. This was beginning to confuse him.  
  
The girl unclosed her fingers, and there, resting in the palm of her hands was a small earring. A clear shimmering stud set in sterling silver glinted up at Ban and Ginji in the dim light of the café. Upon closer inspection, the stud gave off a faint glow that had nothing to do with reflecting the light in the café. There was something almost eerie about the way the stone shined.  
  
"It's one of a pair. The other was stolen from my home by..." she paused, her expression thoughtful "... some burglars. Had I not been there, they might have stolen both... but I need the other one back, because they'll want this one without a doubt."  
  
Ginji studied the earring for a moment. "It's very pretty, but I don't think burglars would risk coming back for it."  
  
"Oh they would alright," Ban said knowingly, "If that's what I think it is," he tapped his finger on the crystal clear stone, "then they'll be more determined to snatch it from you than anything. What's your name kid, and how did you get a hold of these?"  
  
The girl stared up at Ban, momentarily taken a-back, but seemed to recover quickly. "My name is Mei Noches."  
  
Ban smirked, and closed the girl's hand over the earring. That explained everything.  
  
"Figures. You're Maria's apprentice, aren't you?"  
  
Mei nodded. "I can't give you my real name. I'm sorry."  
  
"No, that's quite alright. If you're her apprentice, she'd have trained you not to give your true surname so she's got you using hers. That's powerful magic, and if we're going to be dealing with people who know about the Stone Phoenix Tears, then the last thing we need is someone to have power over our client. How much has Maria taught you?"  
  
Mei shuffled nervously again from one foot to another.  
  
"I've been her apprentice for six years, so I'm clear on the basics. I know quite a few difficult spells and uh..."  
  
"And...?" Ban coaxed.  
  
"Promise not to tell Lady Maria?"  
  
Ban sighed in exasperation. What was with this kid and promises?  
  
"I'd rather slit my own throat than tell her." He replied.  
  
"I taught myself some of the more high level spells. I don't know if I'm any good, 'cuz I obviously can't practice them, but I understand the process and theories."  
  
Ban listened as Mei continued.  
  
"I need to get the other earring back, you see. Lady Maria trusted me to guard the tears, so I made them into earrings. That way they'd always be with me, well protected. But these strange men broke into my room and snatched them from the box I kept them in. I used a fire spell on one of them, and he dropped the earrings. I managed to grab one which rolled to my- "  
  
"That's enough Mei. I don't need a blow by blow description of how the earrings were separated. What I need to know is do you know who stole them?"  
  
Mei shook her head.  
  
Ban sighed and slumped down in a chair. Ginji, Paul and Natsumi were watching quietly from the sidelines as Mei explained the situation.  
  
"Mei, listen to me carefully," Ban said slowly when the girl had finished talking, "I want you to stay at Maria's side at all times until Ginji and I resolve this."  
  
"So you'll take the job?" Mei's expression lit up and she clapped her hands together in delight.  
  
Ban smirked, but nodded.  
  
"Yeah, I'll take the job. I lived with Maria for a while. I know what it's like to have to.... deal with her. Just stick close to her. She'll be able to protect you and the other tear. Let Ginji and me take care of the bastards who robbed you."  
  
---------------  
  
Mei left the café shortly after Ban accepted to take on the mission. When she did however, Ginji immediately took a seat next to Ban, looking a little stunned.  
  
"So Maria has an apprentice?" Said Ginji happily. He liked Maria. He had never had an Auntie figure in his life, but she fit the role perfectly.  
  
"For six years it seems." Ban replied, lighting a cigarette and taking a long drag. It wasn't that he hated Maria. The woman was bouncy (in more ways than one) and had a wonderful personality. It was just that she was so overbearing at times. And the fact she was nearly a century old was enough to turn Ban's insides to ice water.  
  
"So what are the Stone Phoenix Tears? And how do you know about them?" Ginji inquired.  
  
Ban sighed, as Natsumi set down two mugs of coffee before each of the retrieval agents. She'd come back to get their order when they were done talking business. For now, she'd settle for listening. Some of the jobs the Get Backers got were too interesting to not listen in on.  
  
"The Stone Phoenix Tears come from a statue of the ancient Chinese God of the southern empires. It's a backwater country legend but the phoenix god Zhu-Que, in Japan called Suzaku when attacked by heretics was said to cry two tears to mourn its fate before turning to stone. The statue was said to be lost or destroyed by heretics but they kept the tears. The tears had crystallized and embodied the sacred beasts most treasured power..."  
  
Ginji was enraptured by the tale, as was Natsumi. Even Paul had stopped polishing glasses to listen intently.  
  
"What was the most treasured power?"  
  
"To grant the deepest, most desperate desires of the one who possessed both tears."  
  
A long silence crept through the room. It didn't take much to imagine what could happen if some of the people the Get Backers were familiar with got a hold of something like that. Akabane, for example. Ginji visibly shuddered.  
  
"As for how I know about them, well, that's my little secret." Ban added, breaking the silence and he drew another drag from his cigarette.  
  
"I'm going to go way out on a limb here and guess this isn't your average job?" Paul said, producing that day's newspaper from under the table. He skimmed the headlines, and turned the pages to the section with the crossword puzzle.  
  
Ban, for once didn't reply with a scathing remark. "No. People who can risk robbing a witch, especially a witch like Maria Noches, for something that's out of a backwater legend like that, are either very powerful or very stupid. And I don't think these people are stupid if they knew to get the tears off of the apprentice." He sighed, slumping forward. "Trouble is, there are countless smart, powerful people in Mugenjou and Shinjuku alone who'd be willing to rob a witch, that I don't know where to begin. No this is definitely not our average job," he said with a grimace, "this is somewhat personal."  
  
Ban stood slowly, and stretched his long limbs. "But the Get Backers have never failed yet. Let's hit the sack Ginji. I'll figure this out in the morning."  
  
"Oh, Ban, you might want to use some of your payment on that last job for some of you tab here." Paul said, scribbling in an answer to one of the crosswords clues.  
  
"Shit!" Ban bellowed, causing everyone in the café to near as damn it leap out of their skins.  
  
"What's the matter Ban-chan?" Ginji cried, concern etched all over his face. "Did you stub your toe?"  
  
"I forgot to ask that little midget witch-girl about payment!" Ban wailed mournfully.  
  
"Ban-chan! Don't call her that! Mei-chan is nice!"  
  
"Well, she is, she's this tidgy little thing." Ban said defensively. "We'll just have to go talk to her about it tomorrow."  
  
Ginji nodded and bade his farewell to Natsumi and Paul as Ban paid for their coffee.  
  
---------------  
  
"So the Stone Phoenix Tears will grant anything you want, in the entire world?" Natsumi exclaimed excitedly when the two had left, pouring herself a cup of coffee and sitting down for a break. "What would you wish for, Teacher?" She asked suddenly.  
  
"Mm ..." Paul mused for a few minutes, filling in a few words in a crossword puzzle he had set down on the counter. "I'd wish that Ban would actually pay his tab once in while. But he seems to have no trouble paying the rent, so it's not too bad. Maybe a new coffee machine?" He shrugged and Natsumi laughed. "Well, what would you wish for, Natsumi?" He inquired defensively when her laughter finally subsided.  
  
Now it was Natsumi's turn to look thoughtful. A long, ponderous silence permeated the room before Natsumi spoke again. "I'd wish for... for there to always be time later."  
  
Paul looked up, mildly puzzled. "I beg your pardon?"  
  
"Well," Natsumi laughed again although Paul failed to see what was funny. "My days are always so packed what with school and work and chores at home. Then there'll be college and then I'll have to get a job, then I'll probably get married and have kids. I know that sounds like a wonderful life for some people, but watching Ban and Ginji and everyone come in here, I got to thinking."  
  
Paul was looking up at Natsumi from his crossword puzzle, his brow furrowed. "What do Ban and Ginji and everyone's lives have that the one you just described doesn't?"  
  
"Well..." Natsumi began slowly. "Their lives have.... Life. There's always time for them to do what they like. With the way they live fate draws them to eachother and... and there's something tangible between all of them, a bond there that I've never seen at school or at home or even on the streets. I want to have time to have a bond with someone like that."  
  
Paul gave a weary sigh and set down his crossword puzzle.  
  
"Natsumi, listen to me carefully. I don't want you going through life without knowing what connects these people to eachother. These people, Ban, Ginji, Kazuki, Shido, everyone, the bond that holds them together is loss. Each of them has lost someone precious to them, and the grief, the overwhelming guilt, they all have that in common, and that draws people like them together like metal to a magnet. While they don't talk about it, you can see it in their eyes... a dead hollow look. They aren't grand adventurers and treasure hunters like Indiana Jones, so don't romanticize them like that. They are what they are because they've seen Hell. Natsumi, do you really want to go through that? Just to get close to somebody?"  
  
Natsumi shook her head, stunned.  
  
Paul smiled, and lifted his crossword puzzle once again. "I didn't mean to be so blunt about it, but I didn't want to mince words either. You're an intelligent person, so I don't think sugarcoating the truth would be any good for you."  
  
"No, it's alright. Thank you, Teacher."  
  
"It's getting late. You better head home. I can close up by myself tonight."  
  
Natsumi nodded and finished her coffee.  
  
---------------  
  
When Natsumi stepped out of the Honky Tonk into the bitter cold air, Paul was switching off the coffee machines. She glanced around the nigh deserted city and smiled. Christmas decorations hung on dimly lit shop windows, wreaths hung from the street lamps which cast faint yellow glows on the snow covered road. Already Ban's gray ladybug had a two-inch blanket of snow on it. Natsumi exhaled a cloud of mist that drifted off into obscurity and started heading home.  
  
The Mugenjou leered through the snowy night, as if to intimidate any stragglers into scurrying back to their safe warm homes.  
  
Natsumi wasn't easily intimidated.  
  
---------------  
  
Ban stepped out of the bathroom, toweling off his hair. Ginji was sprawled out on the musty couch, staring up at the ceiling with a blank expression on his face when Ban took a seat on an arm of the sofa, rubbing the towel over his damp torso. Ginji didn't look up.  
  
Ban sighed and set the towel down. "S'matter Ginji? You've been quiet the whole damn day. It's kinda creepy." Ban reached for a pack of cigarettes on the coffee table, opened it, and pulled one out with his teeth. After lighting the cigarette, Ginji still hadn't replied.  
  
"C'mon, out with it." Ban swatted Ginji's shoulder lightly. The blond boy looked up, eyebrows raised as if seeing Ban for the first time.  
  
"Huh?" Came the response.  
  
Ban sighed and threw up his arms in exasperation. "Idiot. Stay in the real world. Now, what's wrong with you? You've been spacing out all day."  
  
Ginji was quiet for a long while. Ban was about to ask again when Ginji spoke, slowly and carefully.  
  
"Ban-chan.... What would happen to Get Backers if... if you got married?"  
  
Midou Ban nearly choked in surprise.  
  
"Married?"  
  
Ginji nodded and Ban made a distasteful face.  
  
"Married?!"  
  
Ginji looked a little surprised at Ban's reaction.  
  
"Ginji, I don't understand why you go off on tangents like that. Do I look like I'm going to get married anytime soon? Jeez, I just turned twenty. Besides, who the Hell would marry me?"  
  
"Hevn?"  
  
Ban managed to catch himself before he choked in surprise again.  
  
"Hevn. is a bit too old for me. And wa-haaaaaaay out of my league."  
  
"Himiko?"  
  
"Himiko would probably poison the wedding cake. Besides, I think she's a lesbian."  
  
"A what?"  
  
"Nevermind."  
  
"What about Natsumi?"  
  
"That would be on the 'Hell no' meter. Can we say 'jailbait'? Furthermore, why are you asking about my love life? You think I'd just run off and leave you and the Get Backers for some... some woman?" Ban looked absolutely incredulous. It was too weird for Ginji to be asking about things like this.  
  
Ginji sat up slowly and shrugged. "Sometimes... sometimes I get to thinking, and then I realize... I realize Ban-chan is the only thing keeping me from going back with them!"  
  
Ban stared down, open mouthed at Ginji who was looking everywhere in the room except at his partner. He did not need to ask 'go back where?' or 'with whom?' because Ban knew. Ginji had often talked about his fears of returning to the Mugenjou with the former members of his gang, and made it quite clear he had no desire to do so with out raising merry Hell. And while Ban knew it, and Ginji knew it, that Ban was all that kept Ginji from going back, it had never been said.  
  
The dark haired man slid off the arm of the tattered old couch, somehow managing to keep his towel in place and sunk down on the cushion beside Ginji.  
  
"Ginji, I want you to listen to me very carefully..."  
  
It was a rare moment, where Ban's voice would become soft and gentle. The man would lay a hand on Ginji's shoulder to assure the blond that he was indeed there. But Ginji liked Ban's eyes best. The dark eyebrows would be furrowed in concern, and the eyes shone with affection. It was these eyes Ginji loved best about Ban because they were only for him. They looked like an ocean on a hot sunny summer day and if Ginji worshipped anything besides Ban-chan, it was the ocean.  
  
"...God I hate this sappy talk, but listen, I ain't running off with no woman. I'm never leaving you alone. You're stuck with me, like it or not because we're partners..."  
  
"...And friends?"  
  
"BEST friends." Ban said firmly. He gave Ginji's shoulder a squeeze and smirked. But even with his 'do your worst' smirk plastered on his rugged face, his eyes were still gentle. Ginji smiled up at Ban, relieved.  
  
There was a knocking on the door.  
  
Ban and Ginji startled, having not realized they were staring back at eachother for what must have been at least five minutes.  
  
"I'll get it," Ginji said happily, because he didn't want Ban answering the door in only a towel. The brunet had been complaining for the past few days that people were 'getting funny ideas'. Ginji could only smile and nod with a vacant expression on his face until Ban explained what he meant by 'funny ideas'.  
  
Ban slumped back into the couch, staring up at the ceiling. What the Hell had that been about? Now that he got to thinking about it, he realized that he had been unable to tear his eyes from Ginji. He also had to take deep breaths because his heart was going a million miles a second. And most importantly, he didn't mind a bit. Sure he didn't like it when people when they asked how long he and Ginji had been 'together', or when he overheard some punk in the Honky Tonk call him a faggot (this remark had been met with a 200kg punch. Thankfully Natsumi had also heard the man and saved Ban and Ginji from being forced out of the café for good by Paul), or when people on the streets shot them funny looks. But gay had never really bothered Ban. It didn't strike him as wrong or disgusting. He didn't have parents that would kick him out, so he didn't have to deal with the consequences of family members. As for friends? Well, Ginji would be a bit too dense to care, Hevn wouldn't mind, Himiko was more than likely a lesbian herself, and to top it all off he had caught the thread-spool Kazuki and the porcupine Juubei in a private moment less than two weeks ago. It hadn't bothered him a bit. In fact he had felt a little happy for the two of them... and a little envious. So maybe he was gay? No, he definitely liked women. They were soft and beautiful, and could be tough as nails and that was a major turn on. But maybe guys as well? Ban took a long and final drag of his cigarette before snuffing it out in the ashtray on the coffee table. He'd have to think about it some more, later.  
  
Ginji returned from the door, holding a large brown envelope, bulging with countless unknown papers.  
  
"No one was there, but someone left this." Ginji handed the envelope to Ban and sat down beside his partner. Ban turned the envelope over, examining it thoughtfully.  
  
"It says something on the front of the envelope... 'a gift from...." Shit that's Chinese... 'B... Bai... H... Hu...' Bai Hu? 'A gift from Bai Hu'?" Ban raised a brow at Ginji who stared up at him equally perplexed.  
  
"Do you know Bai Hu?"  
  
Ban shook his head. "Only as a Buddhist mythological character. Bai Hu is the Chinese name of the tiger, Byakko from the Si Xiang." Ginji stared up at Ban blankly. "Like Zhu Que is Suzaku?" Ban added.  
  
"Oh! So, does that mean he's Suzaku's friend? Is Suzaku's friend helping us?" Ginji laughed. "I bet if this Bi-Hue is a tiger, Shido would know him!"  
  
"That's Bai Hu. But I don't think it's the actual deity. It's probably just an alias for someone who knows something about the missing tear." Ban tossed the envelope on the coffee table and leaned back into the couch. "But we'll worry about it tomorrow. For now I just wanna get some sleep."  
  
Ginji pouted.  
  
"But Baaaaaaaaan-chaaaaaan, I wanna see what's in the envelope!"  
  
"In the morning." Ban snapped. "I'm too tired to be translating damn Chinese in the middle of the night. Get some sleep."  
  
Ginji sighed, staring longingly at the envelope but didn't protest further as Ban got up to extend the couch into a bed that could fit two to three people. Ban was rather pleased with the second hand couch that had a dual purpose. It saved him having to spend another 50,000 yen on a bed that he and Ginji would only bicker over anyway. Besides, he had gotten used to having Ginji sleeping at his side in the car during the day's before they had an apartment. With the extendable couch it was the same, only a lot more comfortable, and Ban didn't have to worry about banging his knee on the steering wheel.  
  
When they had settled into bed and switched off the lights, Ban found himself thinking again.  
  
He could understand why Ginji worried about him leaving. Sometimes he thought about what would happen if he lost Ginji and realized that he couldn't bear to live.  
  
End of Part 1.  
  
Ai-chan: whooo-ee, that was fun! I love these two lotsalots! They make such a pretty couple. Anyway, I'm trying to keep in the spirit of Get Backers here, and with all this Buddhist mythology I don't want it to end up sounding like an FY fic! (Note: if you don't want your fics turning out icky like mine, never watch Fushigi Yuugi and Get Backers in a row!). Anyway, Maria will be appearing in the next chapter. I love Maria, as much as a girl can love a manga character so for you lot who no like the bouncy- bounce crew of GB, I make face at you! :P Now a few end of fic notes.  
  
Note 1: Mei Noches, the apprentice to Maria Noches, is based on my friend from school, Mei (I will not post her last name here because of icky stalker people). She's helping me write this fic and giving me all sorts of tidbits into the Buddhist faith. Best of all she's Chinese and thus knows all the Chinese names of the four gods that has helped me lotsalots! Thank you Mei! You're too damn cool for words! Although in real life Mei-chan isn't as short as the Mei in this fic! Soz Mei!  
  
Note 2: A few translations are in order!  
  
Zhu Que : Suzaku : Red Phoenix  
  
Bai Hu : Byakko : Tiger King (Or White Tiger)  
  
Si Xiang : Four Cardinal Directions 


	2. Chapter 2: A Strange Riddle

Disclaimer: I neither own Get Backers or anything else in this story (except Mei but she's not that important in this chapter so nobody cares). Anyway, you two guys who own Get Backers, don't sue me, I'm poor! And anyone who's Buddhist or a historian of ancient Asian beliefs, don't be angry if I screw up any of the stuff in here. I know it's not the most competent research job in the world, but I made an effort! Geh, anyway, I sound pathetic now, but don't be angry if I mess up. ^.^  
  
Quick note: I had originally planned for this fic to be four chapters, but the scenes I had planned got longer than I expected, so don't be surprised if this ends up to be about eight chapters instead. Mmmm... tea is good.  
  
Warnings: Shounen-ai, general Ban and Ginji stupidity, some scenes of Juubei and Kazuki (because I love Juubei! He so cute!), lots of mythology, probably some OOC 'cuz it's a fic by yours truly.  
  
Okay, I'm done ranting. On with the fic!  
  
Chapter 2 A Strange Riddle  
  
Ban stirred into a reasonable facsimile of wakefulness at around four in the morning. He wasn't sure why he was awake at this god-awful hour. Ginji was usually the finicky sleeper, not him.  
  
When he tried to roll over, he realized why he had woken up.  
  
Ginji must have been having the nightmares again. There was no other explanation for Ginji huddling himself against Ban in a fetal position, shivering like a wet kitten. Ban exhaled the breath he hadn't realized he had been holding, wrapped his arms around Ginji's shoulders, and buried his fingers in the mussed up hair, ruffling it in his usual gesture of affection. The warm dampness against his chest where Ginji's cheek was pressed told him that the nightmare had been one of the worse ones. While Ginji was a bundle of emotion, the blond was not often prone to tears so it was unsettling to see him in such a state. Ban lay there, trying to sooth the whimpering blond.  
  
"Shh, shh, I'm here, Ginji. Go back to sleep."  
  
"Ban-chan, it was horrible!" Ginji exploded with a sob.  
  
Ban was surprised by the sudden outburst. Usually Ginji wouldn't talk about the nightmares until dawn.  
  
"What happened?" Ban asked, shifting slightly as Ginji huddled closer.  
  
"I. there was this man with three eyes, all in this funny armor like those statues at the temple and burning all fiery, and. I couldn't move." Ginji was trembling, ".like I was tied down, but I couldn't see any rope, and you were on the ground, and bleeding and there was blood everywhere and then you weren't even moving and. and." Ginji choked on a sob he had been trying to repress.  
  
"Calm down, it was just a dream." Ban gave Ginji's shoulders a reassuring squeeze.  
  
"But Ban-chan, you died!"  
  
Ban sighed, shifting his weight, and drew himself level with Ginji. He could just make out the tear-stained face of his partner in the near-pitch blackness in the apartment, and smiled. Not a smirk, grimace or grin, but a genuine smile. Ginji had only seen Ban smile like that a few times before, almost always it was directed at him. He visibly relaxed when he saw the smile. It was soothing to see Ban being gentle and calm, after watching him brutally murdered in a nightmare.  
  
Ban took Ginji's hand in his, and drew it up to his face, resting the palm on his cheek. Ginji was surprised at the gesture, but he loved these rare moments when Ban-chan's icy exterior would melt away to reveal a kind and gentle person underneath.  
  
"Here, do I feel dead to you, Ginji?" Ban said softly and Ginji shook his head.  
  
"You're face is warm," Ginji mused his voice still shaky but he had stopped crying. He spread his fingers out and traced the outline of Ban's brow, his eyes, nose and chin. Ban tilted his head, leaning into the touch.  
  
"So's your hand." Ban stopped himself there before he did something foolish, and rolled over onto his side, turning his back to Ginji. ".Now stop being an idiot and go back to sleep. I ain't running off with no woman and I'm sure as Hell not going to die and leave you by yourself. Jeez, I don't know how you got to be so paranoid." Ban snapped his eyes shut as if to finalize the discussion.  
  
Ginji squirmed as if to huddle back against Ban.  
  
"Ban-chan?"  
  
Ban responded with long and very loud snore. Ginji wasn't stupid enough to take it for a real one. Besides, Ban-chan didn't snore.  
  
"Oh Ban-chan, you're absolutely horrible!"  
  
Snore.  
  
Ginji peered at Ban through the early morning gloom of their apartment.  
  
"Ban-chan, I just wanted to know.... If we could stay like we were before?"  
  
Ban opened his arms.  
  
---------------  
  
The cold, gray winter-morning light filtered through the ragged curtains of Ban and Ginji's apartment. It illuminated their few possessions and crept slowly towards the roll-out couch, finally shedding light on a large huddled mass of two young men holding eachother under a single blanket.  
  
Ban's eyes cracked open slowly, wondering vaguely just what the intense warmth pressed against him was. When he heard Ginji murmur his name, and nestle closer, he remembered what had transpired the night before. But it seemed Ginji was alright now.  
  
As Ban lay there with Ginji wrapped in his arms, reveling in the feel of the boy's body pressed against his own, there came a soft knocking at the door. Ban exhaled an annoyed sigh, wriggled out of the tangle of limbs, and amused himself a second by ruffling the mass of soft blond hair watching as Ginji's arms found a cushion to clutch to himself in a sleepy hug.  
  
Whoever was at the door knocked again, a little harder.  
  
"Coming already," Ban hissed, striding a little awkwardly towards the door, and cracking it open. It was Kazuki on the other side, dressed in a warm looking, over-sized cream-coloured sweater and a pair of faded jeans that fit his long legs like a second skin.  
  
Kazuki gazed up at the half-naked Ban, rendered momentarily speechless with a shocked expression plastered on his exquisitely beautiful face. Kazuki couldn't help but to think that Ban looked more like an underwear model for Calvin Klein than a poverty-ridden ex-hooligan.  
  
"B... Ban-san! Could you answer the door a little more... clothed?" Kazuki managed, a flush creeping into his cheeks.  
  
Ban glowered, but opened the door to allow Kazuki to step inside. "If you don't like how I'm dressed at seven thirty in the morning, don't come calling at this ungodly hour. Now what's up, thread-spool?"  
  
"Don't call me that, Ban-san," Kazuki growled, forcing himself to keep some level of politeness. Ban simply smirked, drawing a cigarette from the pack on the coffee table and lit up. He gestured towards a musty-looking armchair where Kazuki took a seat, glaring dubiously at Ban. The spiky haired brunet was rarely this hospitable, and Kazuki could only assume Ban was up to no good. But even so, he couldn't help but to think a pair of tight black designer underwear would look damn good on Ban instead of the plaid flannel boxers with a brown teddy-bear in the corner of one of the legs.  
  
"Nice boxers by the way," Kazuki snorted.  
  
"Ya like 'em?" Ban smirked, pretending to have not heard the snort. "They were a birthday gift from Ginji."  
  
"Figures. Where is Ginji-san anyway? It's strange seeing you without him."  
  
"Shh! Jesus Crow you're loud, thread-spool. He's had a rough night and he's sleeping now." Ban motioned towards the extendable couch, indicating that underneath the mound of pillows and blanket, Ginji was sleeping.  
  
Kazuki mentally gaped. A rough night? He observed the clothes strewn haphazardly across the floor, and Ban's barely dressed state. It didn't take long for Kazuki to put two and two together.  
  
"You didn't... Ban-san you didn't..."  
  
The usually fox-sly Midou Ban was a bit slow in the morning and thus failed to understand the conclusion that Kazuki had formed. "Well, he had a nightmare, what would you expect me to do?" What the Hell is wrong with being a teddy-bear for your best friend after he's had a nightmare?  
  
"Oh my..." Kazuki hid his now brilliantly red face in his hands.  
  
"Anyway, get to the point thread-spool." Ban growled through gritted teeth as he attempted to stifle a yawn, failing miserably.  
  
Kazuki glared. If looks could kill Ban would have been a cold stiff within a second. Needless to say, Kazuki spoke again in a cool even voice. "A girl with bright pink hair is down in the Honky Tonk asking after the Get Backers. I told her I'd go and get you. She's a nice little kid, short, dressed like she just got off a flying saucer. Said she talked to you last night about a mission in retrieving an earring that got stolen from her?" Kazuki looked perplexed.  
  
Ban nodded. "That'd be Mei. Thank god, I thought Ginji and I would actually have to go and visit Maria to have a word with that midget witch. Could you run and tell her we'll be right with her? I gotta--"  
  
Ban was interrupted by a sleepy murmur from where Ginji lay. "Ban-chan... come back to bed... Ban-chan..." followed by a soft snore.  
  
Now it was Ban's turn to blush. "Ginji! Don't say things that way!"  
  
Kazuki was on his feet in a second, the bells in his hair chiming softly at the sudden motion. His voice was unusually high, making him seem even more like a girl.  
  
"I.... I gotta go! Um... stuff to do. M'kay? Nice talking to you this morning, Ban-san! See you later. Buh bye then!"  
  
And Kazuki was out the door within two seconds, hurrying back to the Honky Tonk café.  
  
---------------  
  
When Kazuki stepped back into the café, Mei was seated across from Juubei talking animatedly with the needle-thrower. Her apparel seemed to consist namely of bubble-gum coloured clothing: Pink sneakers with two-inch rubber soles, a pair of bright pink jogging-trousers, a pink summer dress over a neon green slip, and a heavy salmon colored winter jacket. Her hair had been dyed to match her pants, although she had left two green tufts to tie up in pigtails with a pair of pink and green fuzzy dice and a pale pink wool sweater-band was wrapped around her forehead.  
  
"So you know acupuncture? That's really cool! I bet Kazuki-san is happy to have a good doctor around all the time. The jobs he gets are probably pretty dangerous."  
  
Juubei's lips cracked into a smile, turning his head to the sound of Kazuki's footsteps.  
  
"You seem troubled Kazuki."  
  
Mei giggled, and pointed up at Kazuki. "His face is bright red!"  
  
"What happened?" Juubei asked calmly as Kazuki sank down into a chair.  
  
"I don't even know where to begin..." The feminine brunet groaned.  
  
Mei grinned, very similar to the way a child would when they knew something no one else did.  
  
Kazuki simply groaned again.  
  
"Were they sleeping together?" Juubei inquired, a brow raised, his hand seeking out Kazuki's shoulder.  
  
"Yes," Kazuki replied.  
  
Mei lost interest in where the conversation seemed to be heading, and stood to wander over to the counter where Natsumi was looking through a few fashion magazines.  
  
"I'd think as much. Good for them." Juubei's smile remained, his fingers traveling across the plain of Kazuki's shoulder to toy with the long brown strands.  
  
"How can you say that? This is Midou Ban we're talking about, a man I swear to God is the reincarnation of some dark wicked demon sprung from the deepest depths of Hell, a rude, crude, inconsiderate, perverted, conceited..." the beautiful man who rarely had a bad thing to say about anyone sought for the right word. "...Prick!" He finished with a flourish of his hand, nearly knocking Juubei in the head in his outburst of indignation. "Someone like him doesn't deserve a person like Amano Ginji."  
  
"In the same way a filthy traitor like myself does not deserve the kindness and love of Kazuki Fuchoin."  
  
Kazuki was stunned into silence, his mouth opening and closing but no words came out.  
  
"Don't get me wrong. Midou Ban is a rude, conceited braggart, and I can stand him about as much as you can, but we are all men with heavy sins upon our shoulders. He is as deserving of Ginji's affection as I am of yours. Besides, for someone who gathers information for a living, I'm amazed that you've failed to observe how Ban reacts to Ginji."  
  
Kazuki listened, intrigued how his blind lover could see so much.  
  
"Ban, around everyone else, is closed in on himself. Something happened to him that made him deeply bitter towards the world. You can hear it in his voice, every sneer, and every scathing word, there is an anger. I know this because it is the same bitterness that I tasted during... that time. "  
  
Kazuki didn't need Juubei to elaborate. They both know what he meant when he said 'that time'. The time Juubei had believed Kazuki to be a traitor, and had nothing but the desire to kill his childhood friend.  
  
"His reaction to Ginji is different, though. It's in his voice again, where there is no bite to his words. There is... a softness. Ginji does something that changes Midou Ban, he erases that bitterness."  
  
"So essentially what you're saying Ginji-san draws Ban-san out of some sort of self-perpetuated bitterness?" Kazuki inquired, his expression puzzled.  
  
Juubei reached up to touch that face and nodded in affirmation. "Much as you draw me out of my own."  
  
Kazuki was quiet for a long time, content to let Juubei trace his hand over his cheek.  
  
"Even demons are capable of love, Kazuki."  
  
"Alright, maybe I was a bit harsh. But if he hurts Ginji-san..."  
  
"...I'm sure you won't be the only one after his blood."  
  
---------------  
  
Wan Paul was sweeping the floor while watching Natsumi and Mei flipping excitedly through the fashion magazines, discussing the latest styles and laughing over which ones they liked or didn't. It was good to see Natsumi was making friends so easily at the café.  
  
Then there was a sudden silence between the two, as they were both watching Kazuki like hawks. Mei put her thumbs against her index fingers as if to create a photographic lens to capture Kazuki's image in.  
  
"He would look so good in that outfit." Natsumi said wistfully, Mei nodding in fervent agreement.  
  
"Let me see..." Paul chuckled peering over Natsumi's shoulder. "...You're right, he would look good in that outfit," Paul remarked, with a brow raised from behind his dark lenses.  
  
Kazuki stood, looking mildly annoyed. "Alright, I don't like where this is going. What outfit would I look good in?"  
  
Mei held up the magazine. On the page was a model dressed in an elegant black and white satin gown. It fell in front just above the woman's knees, and the trail in back expanded like a halo around her feet.  
  
Kazuki had to admit the dress was quite appealing, even though all his life he lacked the desire to wear women's clothes.  
  
"It's pretty but I don't dress in women's clothing."  
  
"But Kazuki-san is so pretty!" Mei exclaimed. "You'd be a beautiful model. You're really slim, you don't have any breasts, you're face is gorgeous. It's a sin you're photo isn't on glossy paper."  
  
"I'd have to agree," Juubei said softly from behind Kazuki, "Your beauty is exquisite."  
  
"Juubei!"  
  
"And your hair is so long and such a pretty dark brown! Agents would be falling over eachother to represent you!" Natsumi added with a wink.  
  
"Natsumi, you're so cruel!"  
  
"What? That's a compliment! I envy you!"  
  
Juubei was in one of his rare (very, very rare to the point of non- existent), playful moods. "Well, it doesn't matter what sort of clothes he'd wear, it's all the same to me. They'd be off in a second, because Kazuki is most beautiful when he has nothing on."  
  
"Juubei!!" Kazuki's cheeks were almost florescent red.  
  
It was then that Ban (carrying the brown envelope from Bai Hu under one arm) and Ginji stepped into the café, to the explosion of laughter surrounding Juubei and Kazuki.  
  
"Kazuki! Juubei!" Ginji exclaimed excitedly throwing his arms around the two. "Good morning! Why are you guys here so early?"  
  
"Hevn-san has a job for us," Kazuki replied, patting Ginji's head. The boy beamed.  
  
"Aa," Ban murmured disinterestedly, drawing a cigarette from his breast pocket and lighting up. It was his third one that morning.  
  
"Ban-san, your gonna die of lung cancer if you smoke so much," Mei stated knowingly in mock imitation of what she thought the Surgeon General might sound like.  
  
"Cram it, squirt." Ban growled dangerously, shooting Mei a glare. She simply grinned.  
  
"Good morning Ban-san, Ginji-san!" Natsumi greeted in her usual chipper manner. "A coffee for each of you?"  
  
"Yay! Thank you Natsumi-chan!" Ginji cheered, throwing himself onto a stool at the counter and spinning himself around. Ban took a seat by Ginji, setting the envelope on the countertop, and nodded gratefully to Natsumi.  
  
"Thanks. I could really do with one right about now. Thread-spool came calling at an hour man was not meant to see."  
  
Kazuki scowled, but said nothing, vouching instead to return with Juubei to their table to wait for Hevn.  
  
"I'm sorry, I'm afraid that's my fault," Mei apologized, handing the magazine back to Natsumi who stashed it back under the counter and went to go get Ban and Ginji's coffees. "We forgot to discuss how much you wanted for this job last night, and Maria told me your very stingy when it comes to money," she flashed a grin, turning to and fro on her stool.  
  
"Watch who your calling stingy, midget." Ban hissed, exhaling a plume of smoke.  
  
Mei chose to ignore the comment. "Anyway, how much do you want to take this job on?"  
  
"Well, this is a pretty unusual case..." Ban said, stalling for time as he made the mental calculations, "...the artifact in question is obviously priceless..." the job was clearly worth more than the last one they did where they made a clean two-hundred thousand yen, "and the crooks are probably pretty powerful if they can risk robbing a witch. I'd say this is going to cost you--"  
  
"How about if you retrieve the tears, you get one wish each?" Mei said casually.  
  
Ban's jaw might have hit the floor, had he only a fraction less of self- control. Ginji's, of course, did.  
  
Well, there went decorum.  
  
"Well," Ban managed, clearly quite flustered, "when you put it like that..."  
  
Mei smiled again. "So have we got ourselves a deal?"  
  
Ban was grinning, happy thoughts of a wallet full of inexhaustible yen dancing in his head. "We have got ourselves a deal." He confirmed, holding out his hand.  
  
Mei shook it.  
  
Ginji was sitting in shocked silence, happy thoughts of a plate full of inexhaustible sushi dancing in his head.  
  
---------------  
  
Mei had left shortly before Natsumi returned with Ban and Ginji's coffee.  
  
"Sorry for the wait," she chimed apologetically, "the coffee machine was giving me Hell on wheels." She set down extra sugar and cream packets on Ginji's saucer, knowing the boy took his coffee extra sweet. Ban's saucer contained only his cup for she had learned early on in her short-term career as a waitress at the Honky Tonk that the man liked his coffee black. "Now, do you guys want something to eat for breakfast seeing as you have money now?"  
  
Ginji grinned. "Oh yeah, I keep forgetting, we can pay for our meals! Ban- chan, let's order a big meal, please oh please oh pretty please?" The boy whined in his puppyish manner, hugging Ban's arm.  
  
"Jesus, alright, alright, just graduate from kindergarten already!" Ban ground out through gritted teeth, making no real effort to shake the blond off his arm. "I'll have some french toast. Ginji, what do you want?"  
  
"Miso soup, and, and rice balls and..." Ginji turned to Ban, still hugging the man's arm. "Could we buy some Pocky too?"  
  
With a weary sigh, Ban nodded, and Ginji cheered.  
  
"Yeah! Ban-chan, you're the best! And Pocky too, Natsumi-chan!"  
  
Natsumi laughed happily and reached under the counter where there was a store of junk-food merchandise. "What kind of Pocky do you want? Your usual strawberry, or something else?"  
  
"No, no, I like the strawberry best! I'll have the strawberry!" Ginji was beyond ecstatic when she set the box down in front of him.  
  
"What's that?" Natsumi inquired, indicating the brown envelope. "Or is it top secret?" She added, deepening her voice in a mock farce of an FBI investigator.  
  
"Dunno yet," Ban replied nonchalantly, "haven't opened it."  
  
Natsumi raised a brow and Ginji let out a long whine.  
  
"Ban-chan's been torturing me with that envelope! He refuses to open it."  
  
"I'm gonna open it now! Stop whining already!" Ban snapped, snatching up the envelope and ripping it open.  
  
Ginji and Natsumi watched curiously as Ban emptied the contents of the envelope onto the countertop. Ban picked up thick packet of photocopies taken from some miscellaneous encyclopedia. "It's a bunch of information on Buddhist myths of the phoenix." He informed them, flipping through the packet. Suddenly three pieces of paper spilled out of the pages. "What the...?" Ban picked up the first piece of paper, red with gold trim, and folded in half addressed with 'To: the Get Backers'. Ban unfolded it and read aloud: "Get Backers, if you ever hope to return the phoenix tear to the witch's apprentice then it is imperative that you attain five sacred treasures and present them to the Emperor of Heaven. The information enclosed here will be of great use to you. I shall be in contact with you again when you gain the first two treasures. Sincerely, Bai Hu." Ban growled, crumpling the note in a clenched fist, and tossing it into a nearby trash can. "I'll bet one hundred yen this guy Bai Hu has the tear."  
  
"Ban-chan, calm down... maybe he's trying to help us!"  
  
"With nothing in it for him? I find that highly doubtful. Let's see what the rest of this crap is." Ban picked up another red piece of paper with the same elegant gold trim, unfolded it and read:  
  
"One God in Two of Yin and Yang You must hold the gifts Feng Huang adores There are five in total  
  
Fudo Myo-o of Yang Bears the gifts of men A sword and rope  
  
Feng is the warrior, man, and sun Fiery and war-like Feng accepts only gifts of the Fudo Myo-o  
  
Kuan-Yin Bosatsu, Goddess of mercy Bears the gifts of woman One-thousand arms of love and mercy With which to encase all humanity in A Lotus flower she rode from hell For she made hell paradise  
  
Huang is the mother, woman, and moon Gentle and caring Huang accepts only the gifts of the Kuan-Yin Bosatsu  
  
A fifth gift remains, accepted by both But can not be found in any temple Plain as day from far away But up close, the gift cannot be seen Feng-Huang in all its truth Yin and Yang's harmony A fifth gift is in order if you are to receive the treasure"  
  
Ban shot a disgruntled look at the poem. "The Hell....?!"  
  
Ginji plucked the note from his partner's hands and reread the strange verses. "It's a riddle, Ban-chan!"  
  
"I can see what it is, idiot. Problem with riddles is that they never bother to make friggin' sense. I hope the sadistic bastard that invented them died in the most horrible way imaginable." He took a long gulp of coffee and picked up the third piece of paper. It was dry and crackling, yellowed with age. The edges had once boasted the same golden trim as the note and riddle, but time had faded it into a mere shadow of its previous splendor. The crease where it was folded had been there a long time and was nearly eaten through. One good pull would have the paper ripped neatly in half. A red blob of dried wax sealed with the mark of Si Xiang, held the paper in place where it was folded over itself. Ban was careful to break the seal without tearing the paper, and carefully unfolded it.  
  
"It's a map of Japan," Ban said, setting the aged map down on the counter. "It's a map of Japan, only the writing is Chinese..."  
  
Ginji and Natsumi peered at the map as well.  
  
"What are the phoenixes on it?" Ginji asked, pointing to three seals marked with a red phoenix dotting the map.  
  
"Dunno," Ban said, taking another gulp of his coffee and stared woefully at the map. Why did things always have to get complicated?  
  
"Well, I could be wrong," Natsumi began, "But maybe the phoenixes mark where the treasures in the riddle are hidden? My history teacher mentioned a while ago the phoenix's image was used to mark hidden treasure."  
  
"That seems like a good start," Ban replied, tracing his finger despondently over one of the images of the phoenix. To everyone's surprise, writing appeared next to the image.  
  
"Hosenji Temple?" Ban looked perplexed, translating the Chinese writing.  
  
"Ban-san, I didn't know you could speak Chinese!" Natsumi exclaimed, clearly impressed.  
  
"I can't. Well, not fluently anyway. I can read it alright, and say a few basic things but that's it."  
  
"Ban-chan is so smart," Ginji gushed hugging Ban's arm again, "He knows so many things!"  
  
Ban sighed, not bothering to shake Ginji off his arm, but instead returned to perusing the map. "This other treasure is in Hase Kannon in Kamakura..." Ban's finger moved to the third phoenix, writing appearing next to it, "and this other one..." he paused in mid sentence and raised a brow, "...this one is on the move." He indicated the mysterious writing that translated to 'Traveling'. Upon closer inspection the image was moving slowly across the map.  
  
Ban set the map aside and returned his attention to the riddle as Natsumi bustled off to go make their breakfast.  
  
"Okay, let's start at the beginning; 'One god in two of Yin and Yang'..." Ban sat back, letting the words sink in. "One god in two..."  
  
"Maybe that's like two in one, only the other way round?" Ginji inquired.  
  
"Like one god split in two? That makes some sense... so one god, split in two of Yin and Yang. Hmm..."  
  
"What's Yin and Yang?" Ginji watched intently as the phoenix moved slowly across the map.  
  
"That's basic Chinese mythology. Yin and Yang, when together symbolize the harmony of two opposites, joined as one. Here, I'll show you," Ban grabbed the packet of photocopies, flipped it over to it's blank side and rummaged in his pocket for a pen. When he found one, he sketched out a rough Yin- Yang on the paper. "The white part with the black dot symbolizes light, goodness, and purity. It's usually associated with the masculine. That's Yang. The black part with the white dot is Yin, which symbolizes darkness and corruption. It's usually associated with the feminine."  
  
"So in Buddhism, women are dark and corrupt?" This seemed to bother Ginji who's encounters with women did not add up to the Yin and Yang assessment of the female persona. Sure, Hevn was usually a little underdressed and Himiko could be quite bitter and callous, but they were hardly dark and corrupt.  
  
"In most religions, women tend to be depicted that way, which is why I don't belong to any particular one."  
  
"So the Yin-Yang is a load of crap?" Ginji looked puzzled.  
  
"In that whole pure man/evil woman thing, to put it bluntly, yeah it's a load of crap. A person's sex has nothing to do with how good or evil they are. But the basic belief of the union of two absolute opposites is not. It's a pretty universal concept: light and dark, good and evil. The Yin- Yang is symbolic of the harmony of the two, thus there is balance. It's human nature, the planet, the entire universe in a nutshell." Ban grinned, watching Ginji's reaction.  
  
"It's like us!" Said the blond brightly.  
  
Ban tilted his head to the side, curious to see where this would go. "How so?"  
  
Ginji swiped Ban's pen and scribbled 'Get Backers' in rather passable English lettering. "The 'G', for Ginji," he said circling the 'G'. "And 'B', for Ban-chan." He circled the 'B'. "And the 's'," he circled the 's' and wrote a number 1 after it. "The 's' makes us one. Harmony. Two opposites as one." Ginji set the pen down by his scribbling, and beamed with pride at his partner. Ban was sitting in shocked silence.  
  
Ban finally spoke just as the blonde's face began to fall in a look of discouragement. "Ya know, you aren't as dumb as you always act."  
  
Ginji's head shot up. "You mean that, Ban-chan?"  
  
"Yeah," said Ban ruffling Ginji's hair. "Yeah, I mean that."  
  
Ginji swelled with unconcealed pride.  
  
"Anyway, let's get back to this riddle. 'One God in Two of Yin and Yang, You must hold the gifts Feng Huang adores'." Ban's eyebrows furrowed. "Feng Huang?"  
  
Ginji shrugged helplessly, looking equally perplexed. "Bai Hu said in his note that the information in the packet would help us. Maybe it's in there?"  
  
Ban seized the photocopies, flipping through the pages. "Hn, he highlighted a shit load of information in here. Aha! Feng Huang! Feng Huang... Feng Huang... hmm..."  
  
"What does it say?"  
  
"Feng Huang is actually represented as two deities. A male and female phoenix. The male was Feng, the female Huang. Feng is the typical firebird, pertaining to the sun and symbolic of, of course, Yang. Huang is female, pertains to the moon, and is Yin. Together they are a symbol of marriage, everlasting love, and the yin-yang."  
  
"Ah," Ginji replied absently, sipping his now sufficiently cooled coffee.  
  
"The first paragraph of the riddle is pretty obvious now. Feng Huang, the two phoenixes are two Gods, but become one as Zhu Que. One God in Two of Yin and Yang. Hold the gifts Feng Huang adores. Okay so we gotta get these treasures, five of them in total. From what Bai Hu is saying, we gotta get these treasures in exchange for the tear."  
  
"It looks like the rest of the riddle talks about the treasures. 'Fudo Myo- o of Yang, Bears the gifts of men, a sword and rope'. Well, that's easy. We find this Fudo Myo-o guy and he gives us a sword and rope. Easy."  
  
"Yeah, easy. Problem is, Fudo Myo-o is one of the Godai Myo-o, one of the messengers of Dainichi Nyorai."  
  
Ginji's was staring at Ban, mouth slightly slack and eyes glazed with a blank expression.  
  
Ban sighed. "Fudo Myo-o is a Bhuddist deity. I'm not gonna bother trying to explain an entire religion to you. Anyway, this other part about Feng being warrior man and sun, the riddle talks about presenting gifts so I suppose we present Feng with the sword and rope. How we find them is beyond me."  
  
"The map!" Ginji said brightly.  
  
"Oh right, the phoenixes mark treasure, or whatever the Hell Natsumi said. The map must show where the treasure is hidden then."  
  
"This line," Ginji pointed to the one that read 'Kuan-Yin Bosatsu, Goddess of Mercy, Bears the gifts of woman', "Who's Kuan-Yin Bosatsu?"  
  
"Kuan-Yin... Kua... Ah, Goddess of mercy. She's Kannon Bosatsu, in Japanese."  
  
Ginji gave Ban the same blank stare he had when Ban attempted to explain about Fudo Myo-o.  
  
"My God, Ginji, we saw her statue at that old guy's temple less than a month ago. She's the Goddess of mercy! One of the most worshiped gods in China!" Ban massaged his aching forehead. "Anyway," He barked before Ginji could interrupt again, "It looks like she's give us the other two gifts. 'One thousand arms of love and mercy' whatever the Hell that is, it better fit in the car. And a lotus flower. Okay, Huang is mother, woman, moon, blah blah blah, we present Kuan-Yin's gifts to Huang. Right."  
  
"That's four gifts," Ginji said thoughtfully, "But the fifth--"  
  
"A fifth gift remains, accepted by both But can not be found in any temple Plain as day from far away But up close, the gift cannot be seen Feng-Huang in all its truth Yin and Yang's harmony A fifth gift is in order if you are to receive the treasure," Ban cut in, "Now that makes no sense at all."  
  
"Hmmm..."  
  
Natsumi reappeared from the kitchen, balancing a tray laden with Ban and Ginji's breakfast. She bustled towards the two, the tray wobbling dangerously, but she set it down on the counter with no major incident.  
  
"A plate of french toast," she said, setting Ban's breakfast down in front of him, "and a bowl of miso soup and a plate of rice balls for Ginji." She flashed a bright smile as she set down Ginji's food and the blond cheered happily. "So have you guys solved the riddle yet?"  
  
Ban shrugged despondently. "Sort of."  
  
"Lemme see. Where are you stuck?" She leaned forward to see the riddle, craning her neck so that it wouldn't be upside-down.  
  
"This part, the last verse." Ban pointed to the troubling lines.  
  
Natsumi read them, her eyes darting to and fro and brow furrowed in concentration. Ban and Ginji sat in apprehensive silence, watching, waiting...  
  
And to everyone's amazement she burst out laughing.  
  
---------------  
  
Ai-chan: Oooooh... this chapter got LONG! But whee! Ban and Ginji are always fun3. I'm obsessing over Hedwig and the Angry Inch at the moment (great play!) so if a Ban/Ginji songfic entitled "Origin of Love" pops up here, don't be surprised. I hope everyone is enjoying this fic, I'm having loads of fun writing it (I know my forte is definitely not writing but what the Hell, it's fun! -.^). Hikaru, if your looking for Get Backers manga, I'd suggest the GB Translations Project site: - gb.html for all your GB needs. Tokyo Pop has taken up GB so it should be released in English in the not too distant future. Hmm, one other thing... WHY IS MARIA NOT IN THE ANIME? * Cries * And what was up with her and Lucifer? * leer *. Oh well, hope you enjoyed this part.  
  
Anyway, translations!  
  
The Godai Myo-o and Fudo Myo-o: The Godai Myo-o (five great kings), are Dainichi Nyorai's messengers and are symbolic of Dainichi's wrath against evil and ignorance. Fudo is the personification of Dainichi and the center of the Godai Myo-o.  
  
Kuan-Yin Bosatsu: Kannon Bosatsu, the Goddess of Mercy. One of the most popular deities in Buddhism, she is said to encase humanity in one thousand arms of mercy, symbolic of being able to hear every prayer of every person. 


	3. Chapter 3: The Faceless Tiger

Disclaimer: I do not own Get Backers. Don't sue, I have no money. I do have monkey though! * holds up sock puppet monkey *  
  
Warnings: Geez, if your on the third chapter by now you should know; shounen-ai, vast amounts of Ai having no life and spending hours looking up mythology for this fic, some OOC cuz I'm just stupid like that, and yeah, more shounen-ai (mostly Ban and Ginji, although Kazu-chan and everyone's favourite porcupine Juubei will be making some more appearances).  
  
Chapter 3: The Faceless Tiger  
  
Natsumi was bent over, her shoulders shuddering violently with a miserable attempt to restrain her giggles, tears of mirth streaming down her now beet- red face.  
  
"What's so God-damn funny?" Ban demanded angrily.  
  
The young waitress struggled to get a hold of herself. She lifted her head, meeting Ban's angry stare and Ginji's politely puzzled expression...  
  
...and lost it once again.  
  
"What's going on?" Kazuki inquired, getting up from his place to see what all the commotion was.  
  
"I think Natsumi's gone mental," Ban grumbled, watching Natsumi clutch a stitch in her side.  
  
"Maybe the last verse is a joke, Ban-chan? Although I don't get why it's so funny..." Ginji suggested, scratching his head and studying the riddle with renewed interest.  
  
"I highly doubt that, Ginji-kun," Kazuki said calmly while Ban was glaring at Natsumi (who's fit of laughter was just beginning to subside). "May I take a look?"  
  
Ginji nodded and showed the longhaired brunet the troubling verse. "This part. We don't get what it's talking about."  
  
Kazuki read it slowly, fingers trailing elegantly over the words as if by touching them he could somehow absorb the answer to the mystery they held. He stopped at the end and then read and reread it over. Ginji watched anxiously, rocking on the edge of his seat. Even Ban turned his attention from Natsumi's sudden case of the giggles to observe Kazuki with interest.  
  
The weaver's lips turned up at the corners in the slightest of amused smiles.  
  
"Well? Have you figured it out?" Ban huffed impatiently.  
  
Kazuki peered up from the riddle, nodding in affirmation, but not saying a word.  
  
"So what is it?"  
  
Kazuki shook his head and set the riddle back down on the table. "I'm surprised, Midou-kun. Seeing as you and Ginji are together like that, and you can't tell what the riddle's talking about."  
  
Ban was on his feet in an instant, hands balled into fists and eyes narrowed dangerously.  
  
"What the hell do you mean by that, thread-spool?" Ban growled furiously.  
  
Kazuki simply smiled and shook his head again. "I don't think I'm the one who should say it. You'll figure it out, Midou-kun. You don't strike me as quite that moronic." This time there was no scathing bite to Kazuki's retort, but instead a somewhat amused tone. He returned to his seat next to Juubei leaving Ban and Ginji quite speechless and confused.  
  
---------------  
  
The cold winter wind lashed out mercilessly at the two retrieval agents as they stepped out of the Honky Tonk. Even bundled up in the sweaters and scarves they had bought at a second-hand store, ice particles from the dry powdery snow stung what skin they had left exposed. Despite the sky's serious lack of cloud cover, the fiercely bright sun did little to warm the freezing air. An ill-fated Christmas wreath tumbled by from the force of the howling wind, like some sort of equivalent to a tumbleweed in a wintry desert. The streets were devoid of any cars, and the sidewalks had only the most eager of Christmas shoppers braving the weather. Ginji's teeth were already chattering, and he was hopping from one foot to another to keep his blood circulating. Ban was sweeping the snow off his precious Lady Bug with a broom he had borrowed from Paul (after much pestering, of course).  
  
"What the Hell was up with Natsumi and the thread-spool?" Ban grumbled angrily, cleaning snow from in between his windshield wipers.  
  
Ginji rubbed his arms, jogging in place, teeth chattering.  
  
"B-B-B-Ban-Ch-Ch-Chan... c-c-c-c-c-cold!  
  
Ban sighed, realizing that his partner wasn't listening to his disgruntled musings, and tossed Ginji the broom. Ginji caught it, and looked a bit confused.  
  
"Take that back inside to Paul, would ya? I'll start the car and get the heat going."  
  
Ginji nodded gratefully and hurried back into the heated Honky Tonk. Ban managed to get the driver's side door open, although some frost had caused it to nearly be frozen stuck, and clambered in. The engine started and the heat was, to Ban's immense relief, working. He backed the Lady Bug up from the massive snow-bank that had built up during the night and beeped the horn to signal Ginji inside the Honky Tonk to come out. The blond bolted out of the Honky Tonk, and flung himself eagerly into the passenger's seat, grinning as brightly as the morning sun and infinitely warmer.  
  
"So where to?" Ginji asked, rubbing his hands together as if to rub out the winter chill.  
  
"Hozenji, in Osaka. I know Kamakura is closer on the map, but Hozenji is well known for a statue of Fudo Myo-o. And Fudo Myo-o is the first mentioned in the riddle." Ban explained, passing the map, riddle and photocopies to Ginji. "Put this stuff in the glove compartment would ya?"  
  
"Sure. But why does it matter?" Ginji asked, prying the compartment open and stashed the papers safely away. It was the odd thing about the Lady Bug, how things that needed to be opened were jammed shut and things that should stay shut sprung open at very inopportune moments.  
  
"So that the stuff stays safe and in order." Ban replied, backing out onto the road and shifting gears.  
  
"No, I mean why does it matter what we see first?" Ginji asked as they snailed down the slippery roads. Apparently even the snowplows were in mortal terror of this cold.  
  
"Cuz riddles are anal like that most of the time. Besides, Osaka is a bit warmer." Ban's expression remained neutral, but his eyes, while they didn't quite twinkle because Ban and twinkle don't exactly belong in the same sentence (Kazuki on the other hand...), there was, however, a hint of brightness that wasn't usually there.  
  
Ginji laughed and leaned back into his seat. So that was it.  
  
---------------  
  
They had been driving for about three hours when Ginji could no longer restrain himself. He had been longing for quite some time to ask Ban this. The question was burning a hole through his mind and soul, and with no clear answer in sight, he simply had to know.  
  
"Ban-chan...?" Ginji's voice was soft, meek, and nervous.  
  
"Mmm?" Ban replied, absolutely oblivious to Ginji's deep and desperate desire to know the answer to such an important question.  
  
"Are we there yet?"  
  
Ban gave an exasperated huff.  
  
"We still have a ways to go. Osaka is about six hundred kilometers from Shinjuku, so we have a good two days drive ahead of us."  
  
Ginji groaned and slumped back into his seat.  
  
"Don't worry, we'll be staying at a hotel tonight. I'm not sleeping in the car, not in this cold."  
  
Ginji gave a weak smile, but his stomach was protesting wildly. The ex- thunder emperor was absolutely famished. He leaned his head to the side, resting it on Ban's upper arm and gave one long, audible groan.  
  
"Baaaaaan-chan! I'm hungry!"  
  
Instead of Ban's usual sharp remark, or a thwack on the head, Ban's hand reached out and gave Ginji's arm a light squeeze. "Ginji, I swear to you, after this mission we'll never go hungry again. We'll get the Lady Bug fixed up, along with our apartment. We'll get furniture, maybe a tv or a computer. A phone would be nice as well."  
  
Ginji smiled, staring up at Ban. "Is that it?"  
  
"Well we'll need to get an actual bed, ya know? We can't sleep on the couch for ever." Ban paused at the thought, and shook his head. They weren't like that. Even if every nerve in his body was screaming that they should be, that his heart was pounding at him that it was unfair, an absolute injustice that they weren't, Ban couldn't deny the facts. They weren't like that. They probably never would be either. "Beds, I mean." He corrected, and his heart called him a coward.  
  
Ginji unglued himself from Ban's arm, and slumped sulkily back into his seat.  
  
"Why two beds? Can't we just have one? I don't mind sleeping with you."  
  
"You mean 'sleeping next to'." Ban corrected.  
  
"Same difference." Ginji replied shrugging.  
  
"Er... not really, but I won't go into it. Why do you want just one bed? Wouldn't it be nice two have your own personal place to sleep?"  
  
Ginji shrugged. "I just like having Ban-chan close at night. Like last night. It was... nice..."  
  
Ban chanced a glance at his partner, and unless his eyes were deceiving him (as they had deceived many others in the past), a slight flush of color had risen in Ginji's cheeks.  
  
"Alright," Ban complied, trying his best to sound annoyed, "we'll have one bed. But a big one. I hate it when you elbow me in the ribs in the middle of the night every damn time we sleep with... next to, NEXT TO each other."  
  
Ginji beamed and reattached himself to Ban's arm.  
  
---------------  
  
They still had a massive proportion of the two hundred thousand yen that was free to be spent on luxuries (Ban had set aside some for rent and paying some of their immense tab at the Honky Tonk), so the hotel they decided to stay at was, well it was by no means a five star hotel, but the rooms were clean, sheets were washed, and the bathroom didn't look like its last cleaning had been a prehistoric event. Hell, the place even had a restaurant they could go down and have supper in.  
  
"Ban-chan, it's like a cloud!" Ginji remarked, flopping backwards onto the bed.  
  
"Glad you like it," Ban replied, slipping into the bathroom to wash his face. The hotel had been kind enough to supply soap, towels, and general toiletries. Ban made a note to swipe them and have Ginji carry them out in his oversized pockets. The stuff just got thrown out after it was used anyway. No sense in wasting good bathroom things.  
  
"Uwaaah! Ban-chan!"  
  
Ban flung the door to the bathroom open, a rush of adrenaline surging through him from the cry. "What? What is it?" He was in a fighting stance already, peering around the hotel room for yakuza, Hishiki Ryuudo, a person that could possibly be Bai Hu, or Fudou Takuma. But there was only Ginji, sitting on the edge of the bed looking awestruck.  
  
"There's a tv!"  
  
Ban visibly relaxed, relief pouring over him like hot steaming bathwater. "Yeah, don't watch it too much. It'll rot your brain." Ban chuckled, and then paused, looking thoughtful. "Not that there's much to rot anyway." He added as an afterthought.  
  
Ginji immediately tossed down the remote he had picked up, and stared at it apprehensively, as if it might jump up and blast him with brain-rotting laser beams.  
  
Ban laughed, and shook his head. "Idiot. It's a figure of speech. Don't worry about it." Ban picked up the remote and set it down on the foot of the bed.  
  
Ginji repressed a giggle.  
  
"What?" Ban asked, defensively. "Don't tell me you've caught whatever bug Natsumi had this morning?"  
  
Ginji fell to his side on the bed, and pointed at Ban's face, his shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter.  
  
"What? Is something on my face?"  
  
"You're eyebrows are all messed up! It looks really funny!" He laughed openly now, kicking his legs up into the air.  
  
Ban grinned, and sank down beside Ginji. It must have happened when he was washing his face. Ginji grinned, his laughter subsiding. Ban watched his partner, his grin softening into a smile. And then he made a face which sent Ginji reeling into another fit of laughter. They carried on like that for quite some time, making faces at one another.  
  
"Okay, I'm gonna do my impression of Ginji," Ban announced, and screwed up his expression into something reminiscent of a drooling puppy. "Duh, I'm Gin... Ginji Amano, hyuk hyuk!"  
  
Ginji pouted. "Ban-chan! So mean! Okay, well here's my impression of Ban- chan!" Ginji screwed up up his face so that he bore a remarkable resemblance to someone with the emotional range of a cardboard box. "I am Ban-chan, I'll kick your ass, blah blah blah..."  
  
Ban grabbed one of the pillows off the bed and swung at Ginji, knocking the blond over the head. "Hey! You got me confused with samurai boy! You're meant to be all like: 'I am the great Midou-sama! And I'll whoop your sorry ass into next week!"  
  
Ginji snagged the other pillow and made a swing at Ban, catching the brunet in his lower chest. "Blah blah blaaaaaah!" He taunted.  
  
"You'll pay for that one!" Ban dived at Ginji with the pillow, and the two lashed out each other mercilessly in what must have been the battle royal of pillows.  
  
Eventually they had abandoned their pillow fight for good old-fashioned play-wrestling. Ginji had given Ban a few jolts of electricity (hardly enough to hurt the brunet), but in the end it was Ban who triumphed, having managed to use his superior strength to pin Ginji to the mattress.  
  
"Hah!" Ban panted, a thin sheen of sweet on his face. Ginji was also panting, clearly winded.  
  
"No fair, you always win!" Ginji whined once he regained his breath.  
  
Ban smiled, letting go of Ginji's wrists and rolling onto his side, propping his head on his arm.  
  
"Not always."  
  
"Yeah!" Ginji insisted, also rolling onto his side to face Ban, looking slightly upset. "You're stronger, smarter, and you know all sorts of artsy stuff to boot. You always win."  
  
"You know what? That doesn't count for shit, compared to what you can do."  
  
"I don't get it."  
  
This was it. Ban was going to take the risk, before his partner drove him absolutely crazy. He leaned forward, so that their noses were practically touching.  
  
"You can make cynical, cold hearted, bloody minded bastards like me..."  
  
Ginji's cheeks were flushed, the same pink as the strawberry Pocky he loved so much.  
  
"B...Ban-chan...?"  
  
"...you can make people like me fall--"  
  
There was a knocking on the door.  
  
Ban wanted to scream in frustration! What was with some people? Didn't they understand how important this was? With a sigh, he slid off the bed and strode to the door, leaving a rather perplexed Ginji on the bed to wonder what Ban was about to say.  
  
"What?" Ban snarled to a startled looking bellboy.  
  
"Um... a man left this for you at the front desk! He said it was an urgent letter for Midou Ban and Amano Ginji!" The bellboy choked out, handing over the envelope.  
  
Ban barely had time to take it before the kid bolted out of sight.  
  
"Ch, rotten brat." Ban turned the envelope over. There were his name and Ginji's scribbled hurriedly on the back, along with their room number. He shut the door, and tore the envelope open.  
  
"What is it Ban-chan?" Ginji asked, hopping off the bed and peered at the letter.  
  
"Get Backers," Ban read, "you're halfway to the first two treasures. It was wise of you to follow the riddle in order. I congratulate you. If you wish to receive the treasures from Fudo Myo-o, be certain to ensure yourselves a lucky evening. Sincerely yours, Bai Hu."  
  
"Huh, you were right about the following the riddle in order thing after all. But what's this about the lucky evening?" Ginji asked, scratching his head.  
  
"Something I was really hoping to have before that little pizza-faced twerp came banging the door down," Ban growled ruefully, crushing the letter in his fist.  
  
"Oh, Ban-chan, be nice! It was really good of the hotel to send it up to us." Ginji reproached, snatching the crumpled letter from Ban's fist and carefully smoothed it out.  
  
"Whatever you say," Ban grumbled.  
  
"Hey, I've got an idea!"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Maybe Bai Hu is staying here!"  
  
Ban raised a brow and looked impressed. "You know... he just might be. C'mon, let's go check the front desk."  
  
---------------  
  
"Pardon, sir? Bai Hu?" The lady at the front desk gave Ban a puzzled look.  
  
"Yeah, yeah," Ban persisted. "A bellboy delivered a letter from him to our room just a few minutes ago. Is he staying here?"  
  
"Ah, yes him. Tall, well dressed. I think he might have been a businessman, but his hair was so wild... white, with black streaks. It was strange, his name was Asian, but... well, he certainly wasn't. Very dark skin, he must be American or something, but his Japanese was absolutely fluent. He was a dream come true!" She gushed, a flush creeping into her cheeks. "And his eyes! Yellow contacts I'll bet! How sexy!"  
  
Ban gave the lady an incredulous look. It annoyed him to no end this woman was reduced to some writhing mass of hormones over a guy who stole from witch's apprentice's. "Okay, well is he staying here?"  
  
"No," She said, getting a hold of herself. "He stopped in four days ago. Said to give that letter to you when you arrived. I would know, it was my shift. He gave me a lot of money to do it too."  
  
Ban's jaw had gone slack.  
  
---------------  
  
"It bothers me," Ban finally said as they were seated in the hotel's restaurant.  
  
"I'll be back with two menus, gentlemen," the waiter announced politely and bustled off.  
  
"Thank you," Ginji said, and Ban nodded automatically, his mind elsewhere. "What bothers you?" Ginji asked, turning his full attention to Ban.  
  
"How that Bai Hu knew we'd be staying in this hotel four days before we even knew we'd be here. I mean, there's about five more in this area that we could have stopped at, and this one isn't in our usual price range."  
  
"Maybe he's psychic?"  
  
"Psychics, real ones anyway, make prophecies. Four days into the future isn't exactly something they do. Unless he's like Takuma... but he can only see a few seconds into the future."  
  
Ginji shrugged. "This is all getting really weird."  
  
"You're telling me. You know what this means, don't you?"  
  
Ginji shook head.  
  
"This was planned before the robbery. We got the mission yesterday. Mei was robbed the night before. Two days before the robbery, this Bai Hu guy gives that lady the letter to have sent up to us. Someone knew we were going to be here, and now's giving us the runaround and I want to find out who."  
  
"So you think Bai Hu stole the tear?" Ginji asked apprehensively.  
  
Ban nodded. "That's my hunch."  
  
The waiter returned with their menus and the subject of Bai Hu was immediately dropped when their stomachs both gave one, simultaneous and very audible growl.  
  
---------------  
  
"Ah, that hit the spot!" Ginji stated happily, flopping backwards onto the bed and sinking his head down onto the pillow. His cheeks were flushed, having had a few too many sake, courtesy of that fine paycheck they had received from the old lady. The hotel room was somewhat swimming in his vision, but he had a warm buzzing feeling in his lower chest and all that mattered now was nestling down for some sleep. Wait... there had been something else... something important Ban had tried to tell him before they went downstairs...  
  
"Yeah, it sure as hell did. It's a nice feeling, being full every once in a while." Ban replied, sitting at the edge of the bed and kicking off his shoes.  
  
Ginji smiled, sitting up to kick off his own shoes and take off his vest, trousers, and t-shirt. Ban rolled back the covers, having stripped down to his tank top and boxers.  
  
"Do you need to use me as a stuffed animal again, tonight?" Ban teased, ruffling Ginji's spiky blond mass. Brown eyes widened hopefully.  
  
"Could I?"  
  
"Hell, if it keeps you from having nightmares, be my guest. It doesn't bother me any... except when you elbow me in ribs." Ban said dismissively, laying back and drawing the covers to his chest. Ginji beamed, and snuggled under the covers, cuddling against Ban. Ban switched off the bedside light, wrapping one arm around Ginji. "You know something?"  
  
"Hmm?" Ginji replied blearily.  
  
"You smell like sake."  
  
Ginji flushed crimson, "Geh... I'm sorry, Ban-chan, I just had two, I didn't mean--"  
  
"It's okay." Ban replied, patting Ginji's cheek. "You're just a lightweight, that's all. Go to sleep."  
  
Ginji relaxed, and closed his eyes. Then opened them again.  
  
"Ban-chan?"  
  
"Hmm?" Ban replied drowsily, the alcohol already making him sleepy. Maybe he too had a few too many.  
  
"Before we went downstairs, you wanted to tell me something... what was it?"  
  
Ban shrugged. "Forget it. It was stupid." Liar. It's the most important thing in the world to you.  
  
"Tell me sometime... promise?"  
  
"Promise." There would be no stopping it one day, anyway.  
  
Ginji drifted off to sleep, shortly followed by Ban.  
  
---------------  
  
Ban was well aware how to control his dreams. Nightmares may have been another story. His grandmother had once told him that no one could harness their nightmares, not even a cursed boy.  
  
But this was most certainly not a nightmare. So why couldn't he control it?  
  
When had Ginji become so irresistible? Why hadn't he noticed before? Or had it just been so obvious that he just couldn't see it?  
  
So Ban relaxed, and was simply content to enjoy the dream.  
  
---------------  
  
Dawn brought with it another snowstorm, obscuring visibility to the outside of their hotel room. White and pale gray, and maybe a few faded neon colours from man made objects; that was the sight that might have greeted Ban that morning had he vouched to sleep on the couch.  
  
But as it was, he was not sleeping on the couch. And judging by the way he and Ginji were snuggled under the thick, warm blankets, Ban was greeted by a much more pleasant sight.  
  
For one thing, he was happy to see Ginji, quite a different emotion than the jaw-dropping frustration when he saw the mess of snow he'd have to drive another five hours in.  
  
---------------  
  
Ai-chan's Note: Whee! I've been reading the reviews and I'm glad people are enjoying this! Thank you everyone for the response and so sorry for the OOC (trying to fix that). Thank you X-Parrot for the correction, I'll have Kazuki refer to Ban as Midou-kun from now on (and I'll go back and fix chapter 2 when I get some time). Sorry Hikaru, I tried posting the link to the GB manga translations site and seeing as it didn't, FF.net must be out to get me again, so just go to the site Dakkanya.net and there's a link to it in the Misc, section. I got my manga's as a b-day gift a long time ago, before GB got any sort of major fan following in the states. They've been laying dormant in my closet for about two years and only recently has my obsession been revived (what with the TV series and Ginji's hair getting longer! Oh he looks so much nicer with the long hair than his crew cut! So cute!). I asked my friend where she got them, and she said E-bay might still have some. If they don't try Amazon.com. As for the answer to the fifth paragraph of the riddle: You'll just have to wait and see 'cuz I'm gonna be evil like that. ^.^  
  
Anyway...  
  
Part 3 was an attempt to shed some light on Bai Hu without giving away too much. Anyway, hope everyone liked this part. Sorry it got longer than I intended once again. But they'll be in Osaka by the next chapter. 


	4. Chapter 4: Fudo Myoo

Disclaimer: I no own GB, but it is officially my favorite manga ever written! So there! Thppth!  
  
Warnings: Yeah, I'm not even going to bother anymore. If you're on chapter four and not ready to beat my head into a wall, then you know what's going on.  
  
Notes: Hikaru, I'm afraid my manga's are in Japanese. I'd do translated scanlations and post them on a site, but Tokyopop recently acquired GB and will be releasing the Manga's in English sometime in 2004. Besides, my Japanese isn't that good, and Juubei would be a bitch to translate what with his double usage of Kisama and really archaic speech patterns (I was confused for the longest time as to why he was calling Kazu-chan bad names when a friend finally explained it all to me).  
  
Chapter Four: Fudo Myo-o  
  
It had been a long day, Ban had a headache, and Dotombori was a city that could turn a headache into Hell. Neon signs flashed, their gaudy technicolour glow reflecting on the white, snow-covered streets. There were noises everywhere: shop doors jingling open, the buzz of the crowds of Christmas shoppers, the pulsing dull thud from what looked suspiciously like a basement level strip-bar, and the general bells and whistles of shop owners trying to sell their wares.  
  
Ginji would bound from one stall or shop window to another, then back to Ban, babbling about everything he saw.  
  
"Look! There's a Maneko Neki, just like the one we retrieved a while ago! Oh lookit! An arcade! Wow, they even have that dancing game! Prance-Prance Evolution, right Ban-chan? Let's play! Please? Just one go? Pretty please?"  
  
"You mean Maneki Neko and Dance-Dance Revolution," Ban corrected, his voice sounding oddly distant. Just when was this headache planning to go away? Just where the Hell were they going to find Hozenji Temple? And what did Bai Hu mean by ensuring a lucky evening?  
  
"One game? PleasepleasepleasepleasepleasePLEEEEEAASE? Ban-chanBan-chanBan- chan!"  
  
"No," Ban grumbled rubbing his forehead, "Not now. We gotta find that temple, and for God's sake keep a lookout for any signs of trouble. I don't trust this Bai Hu an inch."  
  
Ginji looked troubled. "But didn't the map and riddle say we have to be here?"  
  
"Like I said, I don't trust any of this."  
  
"So you think Bai Hu is lying to us? Why are we following the riddle then?"  
  
"Because lies can be uncovered. I'd rather follow a lie and figure out the truth than run around in the dark."  
  
Ginji beamed and threw his arms around Ban's neck, hugging him tightly. "You're good at this sort of thing, Ban-chan. I trust you." He declared quite truthfully.  
  
"Ch," Ban grunted, but his hand found it's usual place and came to rest on top of Ginji's head, "idiot, you sound like I'm asking you to follow me to the end of the world."  
  
"If you did, I would," Ginji replied, nodding his head in emphasis.  
  
"I know," Ban said, ruffling Ginji's hair. "I know."  
  
Somewhere in the crowd, Ban missed a flash of hair, white as snow, and streaked with black stripes.  
  
---------------  
  
Hozenji Temple was at the end of a narrow street that wasn't really a street. It was more a very long alleyway lined with countless shops. Sounds of the main street drifted here, but were oddly muffled. It was like stepping between two worlds: the silent alleyway of the pious and devout, and the main road of the material world. The Christmas decorations had vanished here, replaced by lanterns, giving off barely enough light to see. The shops did not hold the same manufactured merchandise the stores on the main road were advertising. Instead, they were selling incense, jars of home-made food, bizarre medicines, countless shrine tables and strange hand made statues. It was the statues that were most disturbing though, for they stared out at the world through round, blank eyes, judging each soul that stepped past.  
  
It was the statues that had really caught Ginji. He was standing in front of one, with an expression that seemed a mixture of horror and awe.  
  
"Ban-chan, what one is that?" He asked tremulously, pointing to the statue staring out from behind the shop window. It was a man all dressed in armor, enshrouded in flames, perched atop a rock, wielding a sword and rope. A third eye rested in the center of his forehead.  
  
"That's Fudo Myo-o, the same one we're going to see. Except the one in the temple doesn't look quite that ferocious." Ban said knowingly.  
  
"Ban-chan, let's not go!" Ginji burst out suddenly.  
  
"Huh?" Ban's ears must've been playing tricks on him.  
  
"Let's not go! Please, I really think this is a bad idea. Let's just forget the whole thing and go home. Please, Ban-chan, let's go home!" Ginji said desperately.  
  
"Wha'? Jesus, Ginji what's gotten into you?" Ban couldn't believe what he was hearing from his partner.  
  
"Please," Ginji begged, grabbing a hold of the sleeve of Ban's sweater. "We'll just tell Mei-chan that we couldn't do it. Please, let's not go to the temple!"  
  
"We're not going anywhere until you tell me what the hell is the matter with you!"  
  
"He's going to kill you!" Ginji cried shrilly. Tears were beginning to well up in his eyes and he was gripping Ban's arm so tightly that he was leaving marks.  
  
"Who's going to kill me?" Ban asked gently, steering them away from the crowd of merchants carrying racks of dried and fresh fish.  
  
"Fudo Myo-o," Ginji sniffled. "He was the one in my dream. The one in my dream... he killed you! And I'm sure if we go there, he'll kill you for real. I don't want to loose Ban-chan!"  
  
"Idiot," Ban growled, pulling Ginji into his arms, "I ain't gonna die."  
  
"Ban-chan..."  
  
"I promise."  
  
"But Ban-chan..."  
  
"Have I ever broken a promise to you?"  
  
"No, but..."  
  
Ban sighed and patted Ginji reassuringly on the back. "C'mon, pull yourself together. We're the invincible retrieval service. I ain't gonna let some statue kick my ass."  
  
Ginji laughed in spite of himself. "When you say it like that..."  
  
"Let's go." Ban said, leading Ginji down the street towards the temple. "We'll get to the bottom of this."  
  
---------------  
  
The temple was nearly deserted, except for a somewhat tipsy couple standing in front of what was unmistakably the statue of Fudo Myo-o. It stood several feet tall, and covered in green moss and lichen. Even in the bitter cold of winter, the moss remained. Icicles hung from every inch of the statue, gleaming in the faint glow from the temple lights.  
  
The couple heaved a bucket filled with water and doused the statue, which explained why it was covered in ice.  
  
"What are you doing?" Ginji asked, looking rather perplexed.  
  
"Making sure we have a good night!" The young woman laughed, hugging the arm of her boyfriend. He gave a dazed sort of grin that had nothing to do with how much alcohol he had consumed.  
  
"So you splash a statue?" Ginji responded gazing up at Fudo Myo-o. The statue, while intimidating, was nothing like what he had seen in his dream. The moss made it seem kinder than it's furious stone brethren in the shops. Maybe Ban was right, there was nothing to worry about.  
  
"Of course!" The boyfriend replied jovially. "It's good luck. Maybe if you douse Fudo-sama, you'll get lucky as well!" He gave Ginji a wink, and nodded towards Ban.  
  
"Oh stop it, Tsutomu! You shouldn't make assumptions about people like that!" The young woman reprimanded, smacking Tsutomu's arm.  
  
"Wah, Mikako, you're so violent all the time. Come on, let's go!"  
  
The couple took off, hand in hand and disappeared into the night, echoes of their laughter ringing out and melding with the muffled hubbub of the main road.  
  
"'To ensure a lucky evening'... so we gotta splash the statue." Ban said simply, eyeing the empty bucket. A hose lay not far off.  
  
Ginji looked confused. "And then we'll get the treasures?"  
  
"That's what's supposed to happen."  
  
"How?"  
  
"No idea. Go turn on the hose. I'll fill the bucket and splash Fudo. Then, whatever happens, happens."  
  
Ginji nodded, and followed the hosepipe to where it was screwed into the tap. He turned it and water flooded out the other end.  
  
"Tell me when to turn it off, Ban-chan!" He called to his partner, switching the water on.  
  
Ban watched disdainfully as the bucket filled. There was something about this place that was making his skin crawl. He quickly shot an anxious look at the statue but it simply glared back with the same menacing stare it had when they first entered the temple. Ban mentally reprimanded himself for being stupid. The statue wasn't going to jump to life and attack him!  
  
He had no idea how wrong he was.  
  
---------------  
  
Ginji and Ban simultaneously hurled the water at the statue with an audible splash. And then silence reigned across the temple grounds for all but five minutes.  
  
"Well, this has been absolute waste of time," Ban growled furiously, turning on his heel to leave.  
  
Ginji suddenly threw himself at Ban, bowling the brunet over flat on his face. Ban gave an angry grunt, just as a bolt of flame shot past overhead.  
  
"...The hell?" Ban exclaimed, rolling aside and shielding Ginji as the enormous fireball made to turn right around and strike them again.  
  
"How dare you sinners beg a favor of Fudo Myo-o!" Boomed an unfamiliar voice. Ban and Ginji got to their feet, searching for the source of the voice. Ginji glanced to the statue of Fudo Myo-o... or where the statue had been.  
  
"Ban-chan!" Ginji was near tears. It was like reliving the dream all over again!  
  
"I know, I know! Let's just take this Fudo bastard down as quick as possible!"  
  
The flames around the hovering fireball dispersed to reveal a middle-aged man, hard of face and eyes burning with a deep fury. All three eyes. He carried a sword in one hand, a strange rope whose fibers shimmered eerily in the other. It was Fudo Myo-o, in flesh, blood and flame.  
  
"Demons shall not set foot in this sacred ground," Fudo threatened, "you shall meet you're end here."  
  
The deity did not waste time with flamboyant introductions, or flaring displays of power. He bolted at Ban and Ginji in a rush of flame, wielding his sword and rope in broad arcs. The Get Backers darted to either side of Fudo, away from the attacks.  
  
Fudo turned his piercing gaze to Ginji. "You boy... You may leave here unscathed. While one inside you bears a great burden of sin, your heart is pure." Fudo's attention shifted to Ban. "But you, you are no more than a mere demon. Your life shall end here."  
  
"You fight Ban-chan, you fight me as well," Ginji snarled, the fierce glow of electricity enshrouding him.  
  
Fudo's gaze was still on Ban when he replied to Ginji. "Then die as well along side your demon friend."  
  
Ban lowered his sunglasses to meet the gaze of the living statue. He felt the strange surge of power he often got when he used the Jagan and he was about to plunge Fudo Myo-o into a recreation of his own personal hell...  
  
That's what would have happened too, had Ban not slammed into what must have been the metaphorical equivalent to a brick wall for Jagan. He was jolted back, a rush of white-hot pain bolted through every nerve in his body. He clutched his eyes where the pain was most severe, feeling warm moisture beneath his fingers. The first thought that crossed his mind was that he was crying, but the wetness felt too thick, too hot, too sticky, to be tears.  
  
Ban wiped the blood from his eyes, getting to his feet.  
  
"You're gonna pay for that." The brunet growled, clenching his fists.  
  
"Fool demon, your third sight won't work on me." Fudo laughed, lashing out Ban with his rope. "Your Jagan can not get past my center eye!" Ban dived to the side, and mentally cursed Fudo Myo-o. That third eye must be some sort of protection against the Jagan's power. He rolled foward and come to a brief halt before the rope lashed out again, and again. It struck Ban the second and third times, leaving severe burns on his arm and the left side of his waist through the smoking fabric of his sweater.  
  
"Ginji, knock him down, dammit!" Ban roared, diving away from several more strikes of the rope.  
  
"I can't do anything if he's not grounded!" Ginji cried back. He had never fought an enemy that could hover before, and using his electricity would just be a waste of energy and he might hit Ban.  
  
"Dammit," Ban grunted dodging aside another lash of the rope, "that only leaves me one choice..." the rope whipped out again, but this time instead of getting out of the way, Ban grabbed a hold of the end and pulled. The fibers flared beneath his grip, but he persevered, dragging Fudo steadily towards him. Fudo raised a brow, but did not release the rope.  
  
"You want these so bad?" Fudo chuckled to Ban, waving the sword to emphasize his words.  
  
"You have no idea," Ban laughed, eyes fixated on the deity. His opponent seemed unwilling to let go of the rope, Ban noted, blood trickling from his hands and falling in steaming red puddles on the ground. He gave a mighty heave of his body, pulling Fudo off balance and forcing the deity to slam into a wall. Stone cracked, and Fudo slumped to the ground from the dent in the wall. Ban seized the chance, charging towards Fudo and slamming him hard into the frozen earth, pinning him there.  
  
"Now Ginji!" Ban commanded.  
  
"But--"  
  
"NOW!" Ban roared. Fudo was starting to come back to his senses.  
  
Ginji squeezed his eyes shut in concentration, focusing on his target. Fudo struggled beneath Ban's grip as clouds gathered in the sky, hiding the stars. Fudo reached for his sword...  
  
"No you don't!" Ginji snarled.  
  
That moment, many things happened at once. The sky flashed in warning for Ban, and the brunet rolled away from Fudo Myo-o as fast as he could propel himself. Fudo took up is rope and sword instantaneously, throwing the rope out to wrap around Ban and drag the blue-eyed man towards him and his sword. The blade pierced Ban's shoulder just as a thick bolt of lightning struck Fudo Myo-o, bringing the deity to collapse in a pile on the ground. The rope unwound itself, the blade disintegrated leaving only the hilt, Ban slumped to the ground, and Ginji screamed.  
  
---------------  
  
It couldn't be real. It was too much, too painful for it to be real. It had to be a nightmare. It had to be. It couldn't be real. Any moment now he'd wake up and Ban-chan would be there in their apartment, on the foldout couch. Ban-chan would reach out and wrap those strong arms around him. Ban- chan would reassure him that it was just a bad dream, that they would be together forever, that everything was going to be all right. Ban-chan would be all right. He promised he'd never die, and Ban-chan had never broken a promise to Ginji.  
  
But he had never actually kept one either.  
  
---------------  
  
Ginji lifted his head, praying the chill on his back was the cold of their apartment, that he had just somehow kicked the blanket off him in the middle of the night, and Ban-chan would be across from him, sleeping soundly. No such luck. Instead he was greeted by the sight of a tall man in a business suit, holding in on hand the hilt of the broken sword, wrapped in the fibers of the unwound rope. Slung over the man's shoulder was Ban, completely unconscious. Almost immediately, Ginji could tell this man was not Japanese. His skin was a deep brown, bordering on the color of ebony. His hair was a wild mane, white as snow and streaked with black stripes, falling in every which-way. He stared down at Ginji with a pair yellow-gold eyes, the pupils slit like a cats. He was a handsome man, with an even, clean shaven face, and somewhere in his early to mid-twenties. But even with the business suit, the man gave off the wild, untamed radiance of a tiger.  
  
"You're..."  
  
"Bai Hu, at your service." The tiger god flashed a very white grin, complete with enlarged and very sharp looking incisors. There was something about his voice that reminded Ginji of Ban. "Come on, Ginji. Let's get your partner some help. Fudo-sama's toxin is beyond my skill."  
  
Ginji stared up at Bai Hu, at a complete loss for words, and slowly got to his feet.  
  
"Ban-chan, he..."  
  
"I know. I saw. Don't worry, I'm on your side. For now, just worry about Midou Ban-san."  
  
There was a rumble in the sky, growing steadily louder and steadily closer, and Ginji was at a loss to what it was until the helicopter rose over the roof of the temple. The side compartment door opened, and a rope-ladder tumbled down. Bai Hu stashed the sword hilt and shredded rope in his suit pocket and took a hold of the ladder.  
  
"Come on," Bai Hu coaxed, "I won't bite."  
  
Ginji grabbed hold of the ladder.  
  
---------------  
  
"Sit down," Bai Hu commanded, as two men in suits helped Ginji on board. "I need you to look after your partner. He needs you, especially now. The toxin should be taking effect soon and... I'm not really the one for this sort of thing." Bai Hu lowered the horrendously injured Ban into Ginji's arms when the blond had seated himself. "If you need anything, I'll be up front." Bai Hu slid open the compartment to the cockpit, where Ginji might have noticed the wide brim of an all too familiar black hat had he not been so upset about the grievous damage done to his partner.  
  
Bai Hu shut the door, leaving Ginji alone with Ban. Saying Ban looked the worse for wear was like saying Akabane was a bit of a sadist. The blue eyes had become very pale, the pupils having the diameter of a pinhole. The whites had become quite red where several blood vessels had burst when Ban attempted to use his Jagan on Fudo. Dry blood was smeared and caked around Ban's lids, his mouth was open, moving slowly but only indiscernible murmurs escaped. His body was covered in head to toe with severe burns, but worst of all were the palms of his hands where the flesh had been burned away, where the muscle and sinew had been scalded. The hands that had crushed so many were charred black, stiff, unmoving.  
  
"Ban-chan," Ginji sobbed drawing his partner close to him, "Ban-chan, Ban- chan... Please live, please, please, be back to normal. Ban-chan, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I was useless, Ban-chan please, don't--"  
  
Bai Hu stepped out of the cockpit once again, holding a vile of a clear liquid.  
  
"He's hurt, real bad..." Ginji whimpered, stroking Ban's hair gently. Please, please, get through this, Ban-chan...  
  
"I know. I'll need to take care of those burns before we go to Maria's." He popped the cork out of the vile with his gleaming fangs. "Give me his hands first, those are the worst."  
  
Ginji obeyed, holding out the charred remains of Ban's hands for Bai Hu. The tiger god smiled, pouring a few drops of the clear liquid onto where the palms had once been.  
  
"You trust me, Ginji-san?" Bai Hu asked, dropping more of the strange liquid onto Ban's other hand.  
  
"I don't know, but if you can help Ban-chan--"  
  
Ginji was cut short from whatever he was going to say because suddenly the burn marks vanished, muscle, sinew, and even skin replenished. Ban's hands were as good as new. Bai Hu gave a satisfied smile, dripping more of the liquid onto the other burns which quickly healed over with not even a trace of scar tissue.  
  
Ginji was utterly awestruck.  
  
"Wha....?"  
  
"His body will need to be in top shape," Bai Hu explained, putting one drop of the liquid in each of Ban's eyes. The redness vanished, but the iris's remained pale, and the pupils narrow, "for when Maria-san draws the toxin out of him."  
  
"Toxin?" Ginji inquired, calming down considerably when he saw Ban's body healed flawlessly.  
  
"Fudo Myo-o polishes his blade with an aroma that is toxic to what he considers sinful. The more so one is, the more the toxin will make them suffer."  
  
"He called Ban-chan a demon!" Ginji cried, hugging Ban close.  
  
"He will be in for a long night then." Bai Hu replied apologetically, corking the vile of clear liquid. "Don't worry, the toxin isn't fatal to humans, and Maria-san will be more than capable of drawing it from him. But as I said, he will need you."  
  
"Why me?" Ginji groaned miserably, "If I hadn't been so useless, this never would have happened."  
  
Bai Hu chuckled, standing up. "Why you?" He echoed thoughtfully. "Isn't it obvious?"  
  
Ginji shook his head.  
  
"Kuroudu-san was right, you are dense." Bai Hu laughed, and slipped back into the cockpit, leaving a rather confused Ginji to cuddle a limp Ban.  
  
---------------  
  
The helicopter ride might have excited Ginji had the circumstances been different. Had Ban been sitting beside him, bragging about their skill, laughing, ruffling Ginji's hair, the blond would have had his nose pressed against the window staring in awe as they flew through clouds.  
  
If that had been the situation, it would have made Ginji the happiest human being on earth.  
  
But at the moment, Ginji was tired, scared and begging his partner not to die. Ban lay in Ginji's arms, eyes open but not responding. The brunet seemed to be in a sort of coma, not dead, but not Ban.  
  
"Ban-chan, it'll be alright. Bai Hu said we're going to see Maria. He said she'd be able to help you. It's going to be alright Ban-chan, I promise you, I promise."  
  
Ban gave a jolt, and made a motion to grab at something, anything. Ginji offered his hand, and Ban took it instantly, holding on for dear life. His breath became ragged; beads of sweat forming on his forehead.  
  
"I can't do it!" He shouted hoarsely. "Please, Yamato, I can't do this!"  
  
Ginji gathered Ban close, rocking his partner like a child, smoothing the damp brown hair from his forehead.  
  
"Shh, shh, Ban-chan, I'm here. It's me, Ginji."  
  
"Yamato... please, no..." Ban whimpered.  
  
Once again Bai Hu emerged from the cockpit, although he didn't seem to come baring any medicine for whatever was wrong with Ban.  
  
"So he's become delusional now?" Bai Hu inquired calmly, sitting down beside Ginji.  
  
Ban whimpered again, arms waving frantically.  
  
"NO! NO! I don't want to! I can't! This isn't fair! This ISN'T FAIR!"  
  
Ginji reached for Ban's flailing arms, drawing them back down to rest on his chest. The brunet gave a hoarse sob.  
  
"What's wrong with him?" Ginji sounded nearly panicked.  
  
"The toxin, from Fudo's blade, forces his enemies to relive their most horrible memories again and again." Bai Hu replied, resting a comforting hand on Ginji's shoulder. "It isn't fatal, but it is painful, and if we do not get him the remedy soon enough, it could possibly cause him brain damage or drive him insane." He told Ginji bluntly.  
  
"It could...?"  
  
"It could, but I doubt it will. We're almost to Maria's and the toxin needs a good twenty-four hours to set in before it can really get to work."  
  
"So Maria will be able to help him?" Ginji asked, his hands trembling.  
  
"I don't know."  
  
"You don't know?" Ginji looked horror struck, holding Ban even more tightly.  
  
"If she still has the remedy then he'll be fine."  
  
"If not?"  
  
"I was never much one for prayer, but that'll be the extent of what we can do."  
  
---------------  
  
The drive to Maria's was a short one. The combined facts that Akabane had been hired not only to transport them there in a very fast helicopter but a very fast car as well, and that Maria didn't live far from the helicopter base really cut the large amount of time Ginji had expected the trip to take. Things seemed to move in blurs, he hardly noticed Akabane greet him and he only managed a brief nod of his head before carrying Ban out of the car with help from Bai Hu. The center of his universe had become the delusional Ban, begging Yamato again and again not to have to kill him. And Ginji would quietly beg Ban to be all right, to get through this so they could laugh about it another day.  
  
They carefully lugged Ban to the front door of the small home. Ban was limp again, murmuring uncontrollably, head lolling to and fro. Bai Hu knocked heavily on the door, his fists leaving mild dents in the wooden frame. At that time, Akabane had stepped out of the car to trail behind, a rather bemused expression on his face.  
  
Maria answered the door, dressed in a yellow silk flower patterned night- robe with a hemline that was only slightly less revealing than simply walking around in underwear.  
  
"Bai Hu, Gin-chan, Midou? What?" She rubbed her eyes sleepily, blinking several times, trying to comprehend the scene before. Ginji and Bai Hu were supporting a limp and writhing Midou Ban, and a tall man in a ridiculously long trench coat and wide brimmed hat was walking slowly from a car. "What's going on this time of night?" She didn't need to be the most skilled witch in the art of divination to know something was very wrong. Ginji's normally radiant face was pale and panicked, it seemed as though something was wrong with Ban judging by the way the man could not even stand. Why was Bai Hu with them? And that man in the black coat, she had met him once before...  
  
"Maria-san, it is a bit urgent. If we could come in?" Bai Hu requested, shifting Ban slightly.  
  
"Of course, of course," Maria replied dazedly, stepping aside to allow the tiger god and Ginji to carry Ban inside.  
  
"What happened to him?" she asked, adjusting her night-robe over her buxom bosom.  
  
"Fudo Myo-o happened to him," Bai Hu responded with the old cliché. "Do you still have the remedy for Fudo's toxin?"  
  
"Absolutely," Maria stated in affirmation, holding the door open as Akabane stepped inside as well. He nodded his thanks to Maria, but remained silence, preferring to simply observe the fuss and rising hubbub in the small home.  
  
"Get him into the guest room, Bai Hu, I'll get the elixir. My goodness, what was he doing pitting himself against one of the Godai Myo-o?"  
  
Bai Hu chuckled softly. "I'll tell you later Maria-san. Come on Ginji, I'll show you where we take Ban."  
  
---------------  
  
The guestroom was small and held the faint aroma of cat's as rooms such as these always do, even if the owner of the house has a general lack of the feline species. It was furnished in a homely manner, with a soft looking bed and several quilts. Bai Hu helped Ginji drape Ban on the bed, the brunet arching his back and waving his arms frantically.  
  
"What about Himiko!? How can you abandon your own sister?"  
  
Akabane was watching interestedly from the doorway. He was curious to see just what would become of the Get Backers this evening.  
  
Maria came bustling in, holding a vile of some foul looking, green colored liquid.  
  
"Gin-chan, darling, hold him still for me. Where did the sword pierce him?" She asked, busying herself over Ban.  
  
"Through his shoulder, here, where the hole in his shirt is ripped... huh? There's no wound!"  
  
"There wouldn't be," Maria said knowingly, uncorking the bottle. "The kurikara sword is a spiritual weapon so it wouldn't wound his flesh." She ran one long nail through the gap in the sweater, cutting the skin where the sword had gone through. Blood trickled out, small ruby droplets glistening in the faded yellow light in the room.  
  
"What are you doing?" Ginji asked tentively.  
  
"The remedy to Fudo's poison has to mix with his blood before it actually works." She tipped the small glass flask and the green liquid dribbled slowly onto the cut. Ban's breathing became suddenly quite ragged, his body convulsed violently. "Hold him down! Hold him down!" Maria commanded, trying to steady the flow of the green liquid. It was amazing how one drop was not off the mark, even with Ban's delirious thrashing. Ginji obeyed, gripping Ban's wrists and held them down. Bai Hu did the same with Ban's kicking feet.  
  
The bottle finally emptied and the wound mysteriously closed. The only hint that it had ever been there was the tiny pools of blood around it's general vicinity.  
  
Maria gave a satisfied smile as Ban's pupils dilated, the paleness vanishing from the irises. He remained, arched up tense, unmoving...  
  
...and collapsed into unconsciousness.  
  
"Ban-chan!" Ginji exclaimed, gripping his partner's arm.  
  
"He's through the worst of it now," Maria offered comfortingly to the blond.  
  
"He should be fine?" Bai Hu asked, letting go of Ban's ankles and relaxing his demeanor considerably.  
  
"Yeah," Maria replied, brushing a stray tendril of dark hair from her eyes. "Would you fine young men like some tea?" She added, her perky manner already returning.  
  
Bai Hu smiled. "It isn't Friday, but I would love some. Maria, you make wonderful tea."  
  
"Gin-chan, you should have something hot to drink. Your Ban-chan should be fine by morning. Probably in one of his usual pissy moods," Maria laughed with a huff, "but fine."  
  
Ginji smiled and shook his head. "I'll be alright. I want to wait for Ban- chan."  
  
"Suit yourself," Maria adjusted her night-robe again, which had begun to slide a bit. "And you?" She asked Akabane.  
  
"Ah, yes, I would be delighted. That was... certainly fascinating, Maria- san."  
  
"There's nothing fascinating about simple potions," Maria said brushing by Akabane. "You won't find any fascinating mysteries or complex puzzles here. Just remedies and divination. And in my apprentice's case, the greenhouse being invaded by man-eating Venus flytraps. I still have no idea how she managed that."  
  
Akabane smiled, the deviant smile of a fox who's found a pheasant. "You madam, are very interesting."  
  
Maria flashed a smile. "If you're working for Bai Hu, I'm the least interesting of people you'll be meeting." She strolled out of the guestroom, Bai Hu beside her.  
  
He followed Maria and Bai Hu to the kitchen.  
  
---------------  
  
The kettle shot jets of steam into the dimly lit kitchen. Batches of strange dried roots, herbs and fungus' hung from the ceiling. A crystal ball lay dormant in the center of the table, draped in a red velvet cloth. Several centuries-old books on palmistry were piled haphazardly at the end of the table. Countless runes, relics and discarded medallions littered the floor and counter. A pot simmered on the stove excreting some foul, bitter odor. Parchments and scrolls were stacked in a disorganized fashion.  
  
Maria bustled about, pouring three white porcelain cups, laden with tea bags, full of steaming hot water.  
  
"Bags today, I'm afraid Bai Hu. I'm a bit tight this month, and so I'm only reserving the leaves for Fridays and readings."  
  
Bai Hu winked and flashed her a blindingly white fanged grin. "Fine with me, Maria-san."  
  
Akabane nodded. "Tea bags are fine. Do you have cream?"  
  
"Sorry," Maria apologized. "I have sugar if you don't like your tea strong." She set two of the cups rested on saucers before Bai Hu and Akabane, shortly followed by a beautifully carved antique, milk-glass sugar bowl. Akabane picked up the trinket, studying it scrupulously.  
  
"My, what a pretty thing," He mused, removing the lid, scooping two spoonfuls of sugar into his tea. "An antique?"  
  
"Older than I am, even." Maria said jokingly, sitting down and resting her cup and saucer before her.  
  
Akabane raised a brow, but said nothing. Instead he sipped his tea, observing Maria and Bai Hu. Both were quite the enigmas. Akabane was more than a little intrigued.  
  
"I'm glad you helped Midou Ban-san," Bai Hu said, breaking the momentary silence in the kitchen. "I know how you horde rare potions like the remedy to Fudo's toxin, especially seeing as it's not life threatening to humans."  
  
A faint smile passed across Maria's lips. "We have all lost too much."  
  
Bai Hu raised a brow, peering over his mug of tea. "Indeed?"  
  
"I was told a story by little Ban's mother, quite some time ago, before he had been born. A woman's son had grown very ill and finally died. She could not accept her child's death and so wrapped the child in blankets, carrying him door to door, person to person, begging for them to help her. They all told her she was mad, shaking their heads in bewilderment. It was a very sad sight. She finally took her dead child to the Buddha and begged him, 'please, help my son'. The Buddha told her, 'bring me mustard seed from every house in your town that has not met felt the weight of tragedy, and I shall help your child'. So the woman went door to door, person to person, asking for mustard seed. The people felt deep pity for the woman, and happily complied. But when she asked if they had suffered any losses in their family, she was flooded with story after story of who had died, who was dying, and all of the uncertainties of life. She returned to the Buddha, empty handed, took her dead son, and buried him properly." She paused and took a long sip of tea. "When I saw Ginji this evening, carrying Ban, I saw a flicker of that woman and all the people she asked for mustard seed. He has lost much. Ban has lost much. We all have. The Buddha said, life is suffering. But there can be no suffering without joy, and it would be cruel to rob those men of their only joy. There was always the possibility that Ban might have lost his mind before he recovered."  
  
Bai Hu chuckled softly. "I never thought you much for Buddhism."  
  
Maria laughed. "I'm not. I'm not much for anything."  
  
"Ah, an atheist?"  
  
"Bai Hu, you are speaking to a woman who has slept with the devil, guarded the tears of Zhu Que, brews remedies for Shiva, and has tea every Friday afternoon with the tiger god. I don't think I could be an atheist if I tried." Maria was now openly laughing, shaking her exquisite head.  
  
"Ah? What are you then?"  
  
"Maria." She quieted, bringing the cup to her lips, her bangles and jewels jingling. "I'm just Maria." She finished the last of her tea in one swig, and stood. "Ginji must be tired now, I should go get a roll out bed for him."  
  
"No need. He's probably curled up with Midou Ban-san." Bai Hu replied, standing and pushing his chair back in.  
  
"Aa, yes I never thought that blondie could get under dear little Midou Ban's thick skin so quickly. He never really quite struck me as the type to go for guys."  
  
"So you think they really are in love?"  
  
"The fact that Midou hasn't killed him or left him in three years speaks volumes on it's own. You don't need to look into a crystal ball to know their hearts are beating as one, as the old saying goes." Maria laughed softly, sitting back down. "Now tell me, how did Ban have a run-in with Fudo Myo-o?"  
  
Bai Hu was quiet for a moment. "Well, the logical place to begin would be the beginning..."  
  
"Yes...?"  
  
"You know the stone tears of Zhu Que?"  
  
Maria nodded, twirling her finger in absentminded circles in her tea. "My apprentice is guarding them. You've met Mei."  
  
Bai Hu looked remarkably awkward for someone who could maintain a cool composure so often. "Yes, well, one of the tears has been stolen, and your apprentice hired the Get Backers to find it."  
  
The only sound before silence swept over the kitchen was that of Maria's cup dropping and shattering on the tabletop.  
  
---------------  
  
Ai-chan: Geh, well, Maria finally made her first appearance. The way I had first planned it, this was originally meant to be the end of chapter two, but so far the fic has become twice as long as I intended it to be. Finally I get to introduce Bai Hu! Obviously he'll be having a lot more appearances. Ah, I had to sneak Akabane in here. Good lord, he amuses me. (Oh, I hope people caught the Neighborhood Story reference here! If you didn't, oh well! 3)  
  
Translations!  
  
Kurikara: Sword of submitting demons (or something to that extent O.x;) 


	5. Chapter 5: Underground

Disclaimer: I do not own Get Backers. I never will. I just write fanfiction 'cuz I enjoy writing fanfiction so there.  
  
Notes: Well, here comes chapter 5! And some light shall be shed on just who stole the tear.....  
  
Chapter 5: Underground  
  
"Maria, I assure you that the Get Backers will be able to handle it." Bai Hu said hurriedly at the dark look that had passed across Maria's face.  
  
"Do you..... know who stole it?" She managed. She looked as though she was fighting back panic.  
  
"No. Feng and Huang have been in an uproar. If Ban-san and Ginji-san present the five sacred gifts of Zhu Que to the emperor of Heaven we'll be able find out where it is. That's our only chance right now."  
  
Maria sighed, slumping back in her chair. "I should have foreseen this... This should not have happened."  
  
Akabane stood and carried his empty cup to the sink. "Maria-san, do you have a brush and dust tray? I should like to sweep away the shards of your cup. You shouldn't leave such a mess, you might cut yourself." His voice was calm and polite, a thin sugar-coat over the underlying malice. He was wondering if witches bled red like normal people, or if their blood was green, like that vile green substance she had used on Ban. But she had done nothing to offend him, nor presented herself to be any sort of challenge. It would be going against proper procedure to start a fight for no reason.  
  
"Yes, there's one by the stove. Bring it here please, I don't think I can stand up right now."  
  
"I apologize for giving you such a shock," Bai Hu said sincerely.  
  
Akabane set the dust pan and brush before a still rather stunned Maria, who carefully swept up her mess. She'd wipe away the spilled tea later, for now she wanted answers.  
  
"Are you helping them?" Maria asked Bai Hu, who nodded in response.  
  
"As much as I am capable of, without breaking any rules."  
  
Maria took a deep breath, steadying her shaken nerves. "Yes, yes, understandable. Weakened or not, you're still a god, and you're still bound by the rules."  
  
Bai Hu smiled resentfully. "Indeed. Were I not, this would not have happened. Anyway, I must be going. I have some other matters to see to, and I promised Kuroudo-san some entertainment. Midou Ban-san's car will be outside by tomorrow afternoon. The Get Backers might also want to search your apprentice's room for any clues as to who broke in." The dark skinned man stood slowly. "I'll come by again Friday. For now, take care Maria."  
  
"You take care as well. Something feels very fishy about this whole mess."  
  
---------------  
  
The scent of blood was overwhelming. The scent of Yamato, the scent of blood, the scent of death. But worst of all was the scent of blood, because Ban was covered in it. It flooded his nostrils, his mouth, his lungs, and spilled from Yamato in great rivers, washing away everything else.  
  
Again and again he was forced to plunge his hand into the chest of one of the only people Ban had ever considered family. He was mesmerized by how Yamato's ribs would shatter against his fist, how the heart would pump against his palm, and then the cold silence. The air was still, dead. Yamato was too.  
  
And then it would happen all over again.  
  
"Kill me."  
  
"I can't! I can't do this!"  
  
"You can. You're the only one who can."  
  
"Please, don't make me do this!"  
  
"Listen, it's a choice of killing me now, or Himiko later. Kill me."  
  
There would be silence, they would stare at one another, one last time. One last moment. A thousand things would pass between them in that gaze, and Ban would finally plunge his fist into Yamato's chest.  
  
Slowly the nightmare began to fade. Pinkish orange light filtered into his dazed eyes, something was tickling his nose. A warmth enveloped him, such intense warmth! Ban moaned and drew himself closer to it. It was warm all around; so soft, so familiar... he wondered if he had found paradise.  
  
"Ban-chan..." came a quiet murmur against his ear. Ban opened his eyes fully, to find Ginji snuggled against him, bathed in the morning sunlight. Ban smiled, realizing it was Ginji's hair that had been tickling his nose. He reached to run his fingers through the soft strands. How long Ginji's hair had gotten...  
  
"Are you awake?" Ban said in a low whisper. A soft snore answered that. Ban sighed, continuing to stroke Ginji's hair, studying the face of his sleeping partner. Funny, how he felt so relaxed even after such a horrendous series of nightmares. It must have been how peaceful the blond looked, sleeping beside him, content, happy, so god damn beautiful. Ban paused at that last thought. He had never really used that word, never found much to use it for other than works of art and Madoka's music. But there it was, Ginji, his friend, his partner, his one and only joy in life lay there bathed in light, glowing like some ethereal being with his mouth slightly agape and emanating soft snores. He wondered what would it be like to touch that mouth with his own, to kiss Amano Ginji.  
  
He was an inch away from doing so as well, when there was a quiet knocking on the door.  
  
Ban jerked himself back, just as Maria stepped with a tray laden with a bowel of something giving off an ominous red smoke and a glass of something white that Ban certainly hoped was milk.  
  
"Hag, what the hell?"  
  
"Good morning to you too sweetheart." Maria replied, setting the tray down on the bureau. "I thought you might be a little more grateful, seeing as I just saved your sanity last night. You should be polite to your elders." She beamed at Ban, and the brunet found he could not bring himself to be too contemptuous to the woman. Regardless of the grudges he held against his family, Maria had shown him nothing but kindness even as the apprentice to his grandmother. Maria picked up the bowl and a spoon, and took a seat at the edge of the bed.  
  
"How did we get here?" Ban inquired, a little more composed.  
  
"I'll explain later," Maria replied, handing him the bowl of some foul broth that was even redder than the steam it was giving off. "Take this. It's precautionary, but necessary. It should prevent any relapse of Fudo Myo-o's toxin."  
  
Ban wrinkled his nose. "Is that steaming blood?"  
  
"No." Maria responded.  
  
"It looks like steaming blood."  
  
"Just drink it, it won't kill you to cooperate for a change."  
  
Ban dipped the spoon into the liquid and tasted it. He was surprised to find it had no flavour whatsoever, so he quickly downed it. He didn't feel like arguing the point any further with Maria. It felt too early in the morning for it to be early in the morning and god damn it he had been inches away from Ginji and all the blond seemed capable of doing now was snuggle a little closer and give a soft, sleepy whimper that could melt even the hardest of hearts.  
  
Maria made a little cooing noise when she saw this, like a mother fussing over an infant that just did something indescribably adorable.  
  
Ban simply glared in response.  
  
"You make him so happy," she gave a wistful sigh. "He was up until god only knows when, watching over you."  
  
Ban remained silent, watching Maria, wondering just where she was going with this.  
  
"It is so obvious," She said when it seemed Ban had glued his mouth shut.  
  
"What's obvious?" Ban snapped, although very quietly. Ginji had made stirring motions in his sleep, and Ban had a feeling he didn't want the blond to hear whatever it was Maria had to say.  
  
"That you love him." She said simply.  
  
Ban had no idea how to respond to this, so he simply settled in to glowering at her again.  
  
"But," she began, standing up and passing Ban the glass of milk, "it's your business if you want to tell him or not. I'll give you some advice though; you'll only have yourself to blame if he gets away."  
  
"What's going on? How did we get here?" Ban demanded again sharply, trying to change the subject.  
  
Maria laughed. "When Gin-chan wakes up, you can ask him. From what Bai Hu told me, it's a very long story. Oh, and later on today I want you to search my apprentice's room for evidence of the break in. Yes Ban, don't look at me like that, Bai Hu told me everything, and yes you can trust him. He's a very good friend of mine. He just can't interfere directly because of... certain rules. Anyway, just get some rest. Bai Hu told me your car should be outside later this afternoon." Maria shut the door behind her when she left.  
  
Without saying a word, Ban slumped back into the pillow. He felt very tired and his body ached from god only knew what sort of damage that had been inflicted on him the night before. Ginji stirred again, this time cracking open one sleepy brown eye.  
  
"Ban-chan?" Came a drowsy murmur from Ban's side. Ginji suddenly snapped his head up. "Ban-chan!"  
  
"Good morning," Ban said casually, and he meant it. Just seeing that look of happy shock plastered on the blond's face was enough to raise his spirits to high heaven.  
  
"Ban-chan!" Ginji flung himself into Ban's arms, sobbing uncontrollably. "Ban-chan! Ban-chan! Ban-chan!"  
  
"Hey, calm down, crybaby," Ban growled roughly, although he shifted his position just slightly so Ginji was completely pressed against him. No point in not taking full advantage of the moment.  
  
Ginji stared up at his partner, one of his radiant smile etched onto his face. "Ban-chan, you're okay!" He paused, an expression of concern replacing his smile. "You are okay, right?"  
  
Ban responded with a hug of his own that left Ginji breathless.  
  
"Damn right I am," Ban murmured against Ginji's ear. He could feel Ginji's smile return from the way the muscles in the blond's face moved against Ban's cheek. It felt nice... it felt right. It was the way things were supposed to be.  
  
They stayed like that for a long time, neither wanting to detach himself from the other if they could help it. For once, things were right in the world, in this tiny guestroom illuminated by the late winter sunlight. All was right, that is until Ginji let loose the waterworks again.  
  
"Jesus, what is it now?" Ban demanded, pulling away and planting his hands firmly on Ginji's shoulders to look his partner squarely in the face.  
  
"I thought you were going to die! You had all these burns on you, all over, real bad. Even your hands," Ginji grabbed both of Ban's hands in his own and inspected them to make sure that Bai Hu's strange healing potion had not been some illusion. Satisfied, he hugged them to his chest. "Especially your hands... some of the bone had even been black... Ban-chan, oh Ban- chan! I'm sorry, I was so useless, but there was nothing I could do if he wasn't on the ground, and--"  
  
Ban drew one hand away from Ginji's unusual embrace and rested a single silencing finger on the boy's lips.  
  
"Shh. Idiot, do I look dead to you?"  
  
Ginji shook his head. "No..." He murmured, his lips moving ambiguously kiss- like against the pad of Ban's index finger. Ban gave a happy little sigh, leaning forward and resting his forehead against Ginji's. The tips of their noses were touching, and Ban realized just how close their lips were. He slid his hand around Ginji's head and drew the blond into what might have been their first kiss had Mei not burst in at that very moment.  
  
"Ban-san! Ginji-san!" She exclaimed and then quickly spun around, her cheeks flushing when she realized what she had walked in on. "S-sorry! I didn't realize... oh my..."  
  
Ban and Ginji shuffled apart looking like a pair of kids caught with their hands in the cookie jar.  
  
"It wasn't what it looked like." Ban stated firmly.  
  
"It wasn't?" Ginji sounded dismayed.  
  
"Well," Ban managed, but he couldn't think of anything to say that would 1) save the moment he had managed to snag with Ginji, and 2) convince the midget that he hadn't been about to do what he had been about to do.  
  
"Lady Maria told me to come in here and make sure you two weren't horsing around." Mei declared, saving Ban the trouble of explaining himself.  
  
Ban noted the tone Mei had distinctly used with the phrase 'horsing around'. He made sure he gave her the full brunt of one of his annoyed glares. "Hair dye is bad for your brain, short stuff." Ban retorted, in comment on Mei's hair that had been dyed a shade of violet that presented the brain with a tough decision between a) begin to rapidly kill brain cells in an attempt of suicide or b) convulse violently before shutting down. Ban tried not to look at the hair. He valued his brain cells almost as much as he valued Ginji.  
  
"It's good stuff," she insisted. "My own mixture of herbs and pigments and a little magic. None of those weird chemicals that burn your hair out or cause brain damage..." she paused momentarily at this, "... to those who put it in their hair anyway. And it works on every colour hair without having to bleach first."  
  
"You make hair dye?" Ban said incredulously.  
  
"And clothes. I want to start my own line," she rocked happily on the balls of her feet like a little kid, the violet hair flopping backwards and forwards like some glossy pendulum.  
  
"You're weird." Ban stated. So the kid had an obsession with fashion. "Maria said I'm supposed to check out your room for anything that might give us some information on who broke in."  
  
"Yeah, she told me to tell you when you're ready to get up that you should do that." And Mei was out the door before Ban could reply, and it shut with an audible click.  
  
He glared sourly at the closed door, silently cursing Mei in every language he knew (German, English, Japanese and some Mandarin). Ginji was watching Ban, shifting nervously in his place on the bed.  
  
"Ban-chan?" He managed tentively.  
  
"What?" Ban snapped, more at the door than Ginji. He would curse doors into whatever place doors considered hellish for not providing the privacy they so often seemed to advertise.  
  
"Are you angry?"  
  
"Yes!"  
  
Ginji smiled and Ban found himself in another one of Ginji's hugs. "Then Ban-chan is okay. I'm happy."  
  
Ban sighed and patted Ginji's shoulder gingerly. "Yeah, I'm alright. I guess I was in pretty bad shape last night, huh?"  
  
Ginji nodded against Ban's chest, exhaling softly. "Un. But you're alright. That's all that matters to me."  
  
"Heh, you're easy to please." Ban rested a hand gently on Ginji's back, stroking soothingly.  
  
"Mm... Ban-chan is being very nice to me lately. You're actually letting me hug you more than usual."  
  
"Hn, you've been really clingy lately. What else can I do?"  
  
Ginji shrugged, making sure to snuggle a little more against Ban. They were quiet for a long time, and Ban felt his eyes beginning to close again.  
  
"Ban-chan?"  
  
"Hm?"  
  
"Do you love me?"  
  
It wasn't the first time Ginji had rendered Ban speechless. In fact the blond's innocence and childish manner often caused Ban many moments of pause and reflection because Ginji could be truly quite profound without ever realizing it.  
  
That was because Ginji was a simple person.  
  
People often made the mistake of thinking that meant the same thing as stupid.  
  
---------------  
  
Maria tapped her finger on the glittering surface of the small prism. It rang out, clear as a bell and then shattered into tiny rainbow fragments of dust.  
  
"Close, but still no good. Keep at it though, you've got the concept mastered but your application of it is still a bit sloppy. You rushed at the end, didn't you?" She brushed her hands together to rid herself of the remains of the fragmented crystal, surveying her apprentice closely.  
  
"Ahhnnn..." Mei groaned, hanging her head in disappointment. "I thought I had it that time too, I really did. Ah well."  
  
"You tried to store up too much time in it. The dimensions were crisscrossing too rapidly. Too many futures spindled together. It's like a spider building a web with too much thread, it can be balanced, but a brush of wind will cause it to collapse in on its self. At least they're not exploding anymore. I only have one vile left of my burn remedy... that reminds me, I have to make some more next half moon..."  
  
Mei gave the twinkling remains of her experiment a disdainful look. "They were about to kiss."  
  
"Good for them." Maria flopped down on the living room couch selecting a small, clear crystal from a large collection. "Try this one. It might yield better results. And stop spying on those two, it's about damn time little Ban-Ban found himself SOMETHING to be happy about." Maria chuckled. "And Ginji is such a little snookie-wookie pootie-pie I'm not surprised Ban is drawn to him."  
  
" 'Snookie-wookie pootie-pie'?" Mei inquired, an incredulous expression camping on her face. Maria laughed and pinched her apprentice's cheek affectionately.  
  
"Aw, you're a little cutesy-wootsy tootsie-too, too." She let go, laughing.  
  
"You really are a very weird teacher." Mei stated firmly.  
  
"Well you're no normal apprentice either. You've got talent, you just don't apply it to anything but making clothes."  
  
"I like clothes," Mei said defensively.  
  
Maria raised a brow. "Then why did you take an apprenticeship to be a witch? Why not go to a design school instead?"  
  
Mei looked miserable, twirling her finger around a lock of very violet hair. "I dunno. I sort of fancied being a witch... it would be... something different."  
  
"Was that your only initiative when I made the offer?" Maria had sobered up, resting her chin on the palm of her hand.  
  
"No, no, no. There was something else, but I sort of lost sight of it until the... uh... incident." Mei trailed off, shuffling from one foot to another.  
  
Maria smiled. "Do us a favor and don't loose sight of what drives you again. It cost us one of Zhu Que's tears. Let's not loose the other one, hmm?"  
  
Mei smiled, running her hand nervously through the dyed strands. "I won't. The other tear isn't leaving my body." She tapped the earring to emphasize her point. "Ban-san and Ginji-san are really alright for this?"  
  
"If they get the treasures, then they'll have a lead. Nonetheless, I want them to search the break in. There might be something."  
  
Mei nodded and sank down into the oversized armchair.  
  
---------------  
  
"Huh...?" was the most profound thing Ban could have managed at that moment.  
  
"I asked if--"  
  
"I heard what you said," Ban snapped, unable to believe his ears. But then again, he thought, it made sense. It would have to be said eventually, probably sooner than later because even he was aware of opening up more than usual to his partner. He just hadn't expected the blond to be the one to initiate the conversation. Ginji stared Ban in the eye with a pleading look. Not the puppy face he got when he wanted food and they had no money. Not the whimpering baby eyes he got when things didn't go quite his way. It was a look of utter desperation, hoping against hope that he made the right choice.  
  
"Do you?" Ginji managed miserably. He had a feeling that saying that would spoil everything. He had a feeling that this was going to be the biggest mistake of his life. Ban just wasn't like that.  
  
"What makes you think..." Ban began, trying to cover his tail, and then realized that if he did that then it would be the stupidest thing imaginable. You only have one shot to get this right, so grab fate by the balls...  
  
Ban leaned forward. "...That I don't?"  
  
After that, Ban could never quite remember who closed the distance between them, but he remembered never to kiss Ginji again unless the blond had brushed his teeth.  
  
"Jesus," Ban spat, "I don't think we should try that again until a little later."  
  
Ginji coughed and nodded. Some things just take experience. Still he felt a little hurt that their first kiss hadn't gone how he wanted it to. Ban put an arm around the downcast Ginji's shoulder, brushing his lips to the corner of the blond's eye.  
  
"Either way, I'm glad."  
  
Ginji nestled closer, practically purring. Something, for once, had gone right.  
  
---------------  
  
"You didn't clean up since the break in?" Ban asked, mildly surprised as he and Ginji stepped into Mei's room. Other than the window having been magically repaired (probably by Maria. Ban had a gut feeling that if Mei tried to use magic to repair something it would come to life and start devouring everything in sight), everything was, well, everywhere. There were scorch marks on the wall, furniture had been knocked over or broken, and a lamp lay on the floor, its shade several feet away.  
  
"No. Never clean a crime scene until you've gotten absolutely every scrap of information you can from it. I saw that on a forensic show on the television once."  
  
Ban nodded. Ginji was preoccupied with the several torsos displaying an array of rather cute, brightly coloured outfits.  
  
"Wow-ow! Did you make all of these, Mei-chan?"  
  
Mei smiled, running her hand through her very violet hair. The colour made Ban's eyes water, as though it was trying to suck them out of his sockets. He directed his gaze to something else, something that had just caught his attention.  
  
"Yup! Do you like them?"  
  
"Un. Are they girl or boy outfits? I can't tell."  
  
Mei laughed and flopped down in a beanbag chair. A leopard-print beanbag chair.  
  
"Both boys or girls can wear them. You can take one if you want, those are too big for me and Maria won't wear it for the life of her."  
  
"Mmm..." Ginji moaned, burying his face in the velvety soft felt sleeve that was the same colour as Mountain Dew. "It's so soft! It must be nice and warm!"  
  
Ban looked to his partner, averting his eyes from whatever had caught his attention earlier. "You go out dressed in that, I swear I'll leave you to freeze to death outside."  
  
Ginji stuck his tongue out at his partner, sliding on the jacket. "Mmm, it is nice and warm! Here Ban-chan, feel it! Feel it!" Before Ban could respond, Ginji had the rather large coat around the both of them.  
  
"See how warm it is?" Ginji took full advantage of their proximity to sneak a hug, before bounding off to go eyeball the rest of Mei's technicolour masterpieces.  
  
"Ch, idiot," Ban grunted but with no actual bite in his voice. He suddenly remembered what he had found. "Hey Mei, do you keep crows by any chance?"  
  
Mei shook her head. "Witches haven't kept crows since the fifties, I thought."  
  
Ban nodded, "Do you collect feathers? Or use them for sewing?"  
  
Mei shook her head again "Besides an old pink feather boa I got at the salvation army, I don't have anything that would be molting."  
  
Ban held up a few black feathers a little too dramatically which suggested he had been dying for a chance to show off.  
  
"Looks like Ginji and I need to have a talk with the monkey trainer then."  
  
---------------  
  
It didn't fit. That's what Ginji kept saying after explaining what had happened to Ban last night. Ban had been pleased to find the Lady Bug parked outside, not to mention Maria had given him a vile of clear liquid she claimed to be the burn remedy that had saved Ban's life. It might come in handy, was the only explanation she offered. He wondered vaguely what he would need an old burn remedy for. Hadn't Bai Hu already healed him up?  
  
When Ginji groaned in frustration once again, Ban decided that maybe he ought to offer some insight, even if he really was about as puzzled about the whole matter as his partner.  
  
"I don't know what the monkey trainer would want with the stone tears. Regardless of all his stupid pigheaded antics, he doesn't strike me as someone who'd possess the greed that the tears of Zhu Que claims to satisfy."  
  
"Maybe something happened to Madoka?"  
  
"We would have heard something about it. She's our friend too, ya know."  
  
Ginji looked hopeless. Nothing was working out now... nothing seemed to be making sense.  
  
"I hope this isn't as bad is it seems..." Ginji whined, nuzzling against Ban's shoulder. Ban draped an arm around Ginji, shaking his head.  
  
"I don't think it is. I mean really, how would he even know what they are? It's just between..." Ban trailed off, wanting to say 'it's just between witches and gods', but he was none of the above and yet he knew about the tears. Ginji would start asking inconvenient questions, and he was in too strange of a mood to be answering anything like that. Clouds had started to gather in the sky and a few flakes of snow whizzed by the car in white dotted blurs, heralding this afternoon's blizzard. "Well, we're going to Madoka's to find out, alright?" Ban reassured huffily, and Ginji just /smiled/! Ban made sure to steal a kiss from that smiling mouth, managing to keep one eye on the road.  
  
"B... Ban-chan!" Ginji gasped, holding his hand to his lips, eyes wide with shock.  
  
"Idiot, if you're going to be in love Midou Ban-sama, you gotta stay on your toes." Ban grinned, turning a corner. The white walls of Madoka's home was now in sight.  
  
Ginji gave a mischievous smile as the lady bug pulled into an empty parking space along the side of the road.  
  
And then pounced.  
  
When they had pulled away (for need of oxygen rather than a desire to stop trying to fit the other's face in their mouth), the windows were more than a little steamed up.  
  
"If you're gonna be in love with me, you gotta stay on your toes," Ginji parroted back at his partner, and Ban laughed. They cut an odd sight, Ginji leaning over awkwardly from his seat to rest his head on Ban's chest, while Ban was backed against the car door, his legs shifted at an odd angle.  
  
"You may act dumb, but you learn pretty damn quick. C'mon, let's go say hi to the monkey trainer and his girlfriend before I end up with a hard on."  
  
"What's that?"  
  
"Never mind."  
  
---------------  
  
Madoka opened the door, her seeing-eye-dog Mozart standing protectively at her side.  
  
"Ban-san! Ginji-san!" She sounded a little surprised when the Get Backers had greeted her. "You heard?"  
  
Ban exchanged a look with Ginji. "Heard what?"  
  
Madoka worried her lower lip, standing aside to let the two in then shut the door behind them. "I guess not... Shido-san had a run-in on his last retrieval about five days ago. He's pretty severely burned..."  
  
Ban felt the weight of the vile in his pocket, and smirked. He was glad Madoka was blind, because he was grinning like a cat with cream while the girl was obviously in a state of distress. A plan was formulating...  
  
"Could Ginji and I talk with Shido? We, ah, might be able to help."  
  
Madoka nodded. "Certainly. He'll be happy to see the both of you." She paused a moment, and patted Ban on the shoulder. "Well, maybe not you, but you know how he can be."  
  
Ban smirked, and Madoka smiled. They stepped into Shido's room.  
  
"Shido-san!" Ginji exclaimed, bounding over to his friend who was sprawled on the bed. Shido, Ban could quickly tell, was the worse for wear. Bandages covered his left arm, and most of the left side of his face. Ban quickly recalled what Mei had said the day she had come into the Honky Tonk. Something about a fire spell on the intruders. Ban also noted the plural.  
  
"Ginji..." Shido looked surprised to see Ginji at his bedside, although quite pleased that his friend had come. Then he spied Ban, leaning against the doorframe and talking in a hushed voice with Madoka. "What's that snake bastard doing here?" He nearly growled.  
  
Ban glanced up, noticing Shido and gave him a contemptuous sneer. "Well, Ginji and I are kinda partners. We work together, ya know?"  
  
Shido narrowed his one visible eye. "That doesn't mean you're attached at the friggin' hip."  
  
"Not yet, anyway," Ban murmured. Madoka covered her mouth in a valiant effort to conceal the sudden burst of laughter. If Shido's eye narrowed any more, it'd be closed. Ginji failed to understand what Ban had implied, and instead fussed over Shido.  
  
"Oh no, Mei-chan burned you bad. I bet that's what Maria meant when she said the burn remedy Bai Hu used on Ban-chan last night would come in handy. Shido, are you alright?"  
  
Shido's expression softened at Ginji's concern. "Yeah, the doctor says the burns are mostly first degree, although I have a few second degree burns as well. Emishi went to go see what Gen has for it though, so I should be alri- -" He stopped in mid sentence and raised a brow. "What do you mean 'burn remedy'?"  
  
"Oh," Ginji went off into the explanation of the injuries Ban had sustained the night before. When the blond was about to broach the subject of Bai Hu and Fudo Myo-o, Ban quickly cleared the distance between them and clamped his hand over Ginji's mouth.  
  
"He doesn't need to know about that, Ginji." Ban looked up from Ginji. "The remedy works like a charm," Mostly because that's what it was, but Shido didn't need to know that. "I was in a hell of a lot worse shape last night from what I managed to understand from this idiot's," He bonked Ginji lightly on the head, "disjointed ramblings. And I'm as good as new now."  
  
Shido sat up, glowering at Ban. Madoka had left to go tend to something or another and allow the three to talk in peace. "You're up to something, aren't you, snake bastard?"  
  
"Not up to something per say," Ban said, grinning like a serpent. He dug into his pocket and produced the crystalline bottle, dangling it tantalizingly just out of Shido's reach. "Just cutting a deal."  
  
Ginji was glaring at his partner, "Ban-chan," he said threateningly. Ban gave the blond a wink that Shido didn't notice through the haze of his bubbling rage. The snake bastard was going to make an ass out of him, he knew it.  
  
"You're good at deals," Shido growled. "We'll see. Keep in mind I still have the hope of Gen-sensei."  
  
Ban's serpent grin widened. "You tell us about the circumstances five days ago and how they came about, and I'll hand you the remedy and Madoka-chan doesn't have to play nursemaid anymore."  
  
Shido glared. "You know that it's not proper business etiquette to give out the confidential information of clients."  
  
Ban shrugged and farced dropping the bottle on the hard wood floor where it would have shattered had he not shot his hand out beneath the vile and caught it. Shido had also lunged for it, wincing when the rough underside of his bandages scraped the sensitive surface of his burns.  
  
"Not very confident in the miracle man, are you?"  
  
Shido sighed. It was clear he had lost and it would only be making a fool of himself if he pretended nothing had happened.  
  
"Hevn set me up with a client. He had a suspicious scent to him, but I needed the money to pay my debts to Madoka so I didn't complain. Emishi was with me at the time. The client said a pair of earrings had been stolen from him, said they were a special family heirloom and he needed them back. He gave Emishi and me the address and which room to break into where we could retrieve them. We went in, and the person in there... something happened, because the minute I grabbed the earrings there was a burst of flames. I dropped one but Emishi and I got away with our lives."  
  
Ban frowned, looking thoughtful for a moment.  
  
"Shido-san, do you still have the earring?" Ginji asked hopefully.  
  
"No." Said Shido flatly. "The client picked it up yesterday and paid me half of the agreed fee."  
  
Ban and Ginji let out a collective sigh of disappointment.  
  
"Do you know you're clients name?" Ban finally asked.  
  
"Yeah, Hevn said his name was..." Shido furrowed his brow, trying to recall. "It was a Chinese name, I know that. It was... Taiyi."  
  
"Well that helps. Anything else?"  
  
Shido shook his head. "He just said the earrings were an heirloom."  
  
Ban tossed the vile of clear liquid at Shido and is landed in his lap with a muffled thud.  
  
"Right, well I'll warn you monkey trainer; don't go after the other one, or I guarantee you the occupants of that house won't be so nice as to let you off with a few second degree burns."  
  
"What are you talking about?" Shido growled. "I knew there was more to those earrings than just some damn heirloom. You know something about this, now spill it you snake bastard."  
  
"Shido-san, Ban-chan, stop fighting!" Ginji pleaded as the two exchanged dangerous glares that implied that exchanging blows was a prospect of the near future.  
  
"I don't owe you any explanations, monkey boy. I'm being nice and warning you to keep yourself as far from this as possible. I think you already know this, but you're client is a fraud. Those earrings have been in the line he was trying to steal them back from since the days Bhudda walked."  
  
Ban turned on his heel and stepped out of Shido's room. Ginji had stayed behind to help his friend use the remedy and make sure Shido would be alright.  
  
Madoka approached Ban slowly, but steadily, her hand rested on the guide- dog's head.  
  
"I wasn't spying, but I couldn't help to overhear," she started, scratching behind Mozart's ears. "Well, I know how stubborn he can be... especially with you. Could you tell me what he's gotten himself into, so maybe I could help?"  
  
Ban shrugged, about to light a cigarette, but thought better of it considering this was not his home and he doubted if Madoka took well to cigarette smoke. It wasn't that he thought her frail. She had proven herself repeatedly that she was neither weak of body or of mind, having handled herself quite well in danger considering her impairment. He just felt it was inappropriate to apply his general inconsideration to society in the presence of one of the few people he respected.  
  
"He hasn't gotten himself into anything if he backs down now and minds his own business."  
  
"Aa." Madoka smiled. "I believe that'll happen when hell freezes over, as the saying goes."  
  
"Damn right. Monkey trai-Shido is too stubborn for his own good. What Ginji and I are neck deep in right now would be way over his head. It's way over Ginji's head now that I think about it..."  
  
Madoka laughed. "Well, I wish you luck then. I'll use my feminine wiles and get Shido to forget about this job."  
  
Ban was smiling. He knew damn well that Madoka's concept of feminine wiles was exchanging smiles and holding hands, and the monkey trainer was so reserved that that was probably how he saw it as well. Ah, young love.  
  
While on the subject of young love, Ginji stepped out of Shido's room and latched himself onto Ban's arm.  
  
"Ban-chan, I think we should go now. Shido is very angry with you." Ginji tugged on Ban, heading towards the stairs. "Thank you very much Madoka- chan, and Shido will be absolutely a-o-kay! Let's go quick, Ban-chan, I gave him a little jolt so he wouldn't come after you immediately but your little bargain dealie* has seriously pissed him off."  
  
Ban smirked as he was dragged away, Madoka waving in their general direction cheerfully. "Let him come Ginji, I'll show him and his little pets a thing or two."  
  
"No," said Ginji firmly. "You two fight enough as it is. Bye bye Madoka! Shido should be up and about in no time! Ah, tell him I'm sorry but it was for his and Ban's own good."  
  
"Feh, don't fuss over my good. I can take care of myself." Ban huffed.  
  
"I will, don't worry," Madoka called back.  
  
The door opened and closed and they were gone.  
  
---------------  
  
Ban and Ginji climbed the three sets of stairs to their floor, both feeling rather exhausted from the night before. Despite the fact the two were in good physical condition (thanks to Maria), Ginji was emotionally exhausted, and although Ban didn't say anything, he was sore from head to toe, and felt several twinges of pain where he had sustained the more severe burns.  
  
"I think we should take tonight off." Ginji stated. Ban was about to protest, explaining that they were only going up to the apartment for a quick shower each, and a change of clothes, but Ginji quieted him with a soft kiss on the cheek. "We're both tired, and I know you're still in pain. Kamakura is a pretty long drive and maybe we should rest up before heading off to another temple. I mean, we kinda know what to expect now."  
  
Ban stared at his partner in shock, and then grinned like the Cheshire cat. "You just want me all to yourself for the evening."  
  
"That too." Ginji replied smiling sheepishly. It felt like they had been like this for ages rather than a few short hours.  
  
"And I always thought you were innocent..." Ban tsked as they stopped outside their door.  
  
"What's wrong with kissing?"  
  
Ban stopped rummaging for his keys and gave his partner a disbelieving look. "Nothing's wrong with kissing. I just thought... oh never mind. I'll just explain it to you some other time."  
  
The door unlocked with an audible click and the two stepped inside. They weren't alone.  
  
Two men were seated on the couch. One was blond, his hair heavily spiked with generous amounts of gel, and pale skinned. His clothes were shabby, consisting of a faded leather jacket, covered extensively in silvery studs, a ragged old t-shirt that looked like a family of mice had a party on it, tattered jeans ripped at the knees and a pair of dark leather shoes. He seemed to be pierced in every place imaginable; ears, eyebrows, nose, lip, tongue, probably some other places too, but this story is at a pg-13 rating and it's staying that way. The other man was dark skinned. His hair was in hundreds of rows of beaded braids that fell far below his shoulder blades and clacked together whenever he moved. He wore far more comfortable looking clothes; a huge over-sized khaki coloured cashmere sweater that hung on the slim muscular frame in a manner that could only be deemed sexually alluring. He wore jeans as well, but unlike the blond's they were practically new. His footwear was a pair of brown leather dress shoes.  
  
"Hello," said the neatly dressed man, "My name is Xuan Wu. The one who looks like he's been too intimate with a staple gun is Qing Long. We're here to check in on the progress of the retrieval."  
  
Ban and Ginji silently gaped at the two.  
  
---------------  
  
To be continued...  
  
---------------  
  
*Dealie: A term my koibito uses quite often  
  
Translations:  
  
Si Xiang: Four cardinal directions (I don't know if the Si Xiang has a formal title in Japanese. If you know it does and what it is, please tell me I'll happily credit you! My language skills are pathetically feeble...)  
  
Zhu Que: Red Phoenix/Flame Pheonix. Suzaku in Japanese. (Southern guardian)  
  
Bai Hu: White Tiger/Tiger King. Byakko in Japanese. (Western guardian)  
  
Qing Long: Green/Blue Dragon (or East Dragon Chinese has too many meanings) Seiryu in Japanese. (Eastern guardian)  
  
Xuan Wu: Turtle Serpent. Genbu in Japanese. (Northern guardian)  
  
Taiyi: This is actually a bit of a Houshin Engi reference. Taiyi (Taiitsu) was the one who implanted life in Nachu's (Nataku) mother so that she could give birth to the child after being pregnant with him for three years. (I'm not sure if any of these are the right spelling, but my grasp of Chinese is limited to what my friends tell me. Taiyi in this story is NOT the Taiyi from the legend. I just like the name I mean... it's meant to be symbolic. Yes.  
  
-----  
  
Ai-chan: W00t! Part Five is complete! So sorry it took so long but I've been totally addicted to Dink Smallwood and then proceeded to also get addicted to Silent Hill. Great games. That and I'm trying to keep Mei from becoming a Mary Sue (reason for her existence? I couldn't see Maria going to the Get Backers over something like this, thus the need for a rather incompetent apprentice) * smirk *. Anyway, hope you all have been enjoying the ride thus far. Things are beginning to unwind...  
  
Ban: You are shameless.  
  
Ai: I know. Shut up and go make mad passionate monkey love with you're boyfriend.  
  
Ginji: Wai! Mad passionate monkey love! Hooray! Ban-chan...?  
  
Ban: * glare-o-doom at Ai * Yes?  
  
Ginji: What's mad passionate monkey love?  
  
Ban: Um... come to the bedroom. I'll show you there.  
  
Bedroom door slams shut with a small sign on the knob reading: "Knock and Die." * 


	6. An Intermission of Sorts

Aha! I'm alive! Anyway, standard disclaimers apply. GetBackers is property of Yuya Aoki-sensei and Rando Ayamine-semsei (but mostly Rando Ayamine- sensei because he's the only one who seems to have any say as to what happens)  
  
*Ayamine-sensei and Aoki sensei sitting around writing manga*  
  
Ayamine-sensei: And... And... let's make Toshiki gay too so that Kazuki can have his own harem and more scenes with Hevn 'cuz boobs are fun to draw!  
  
Aoki-sensei: * sigh *  
  
(This conversation is completely made up in Ai's head and bears no actual resemblance to any conversation the authors of Get Backers ever had. At least probably not anyway.)  
  
---------------  
  
An Intermission Which May Actually Serve a Purpose  
  
---------------  
  
The snowfall was so thick that the city was hidden behind a sheet of white. Occasionally a ghostly gray shape of a building would be distinguishable. The only sign of the Mugenjou was an obscure, faintly purple glow through the snowfall.  
  
"The progress?" Ban repeated, eyebrows creasing in rapidly rising temper.  
  
"Indeed." Said the one who was calling himself Xuan Wu. The many beaded braids clacked together as he sat down again on the couch.  
  
Before the pierced blond could open his mouth, Ban cut in. "And just what the hell are you doing inside our apartment? I lock the door for a reason, you know."  
  
Xuan Wu and Quing Long exchanged looks. They apparently weren't used to being spoken to in this manner, unless the speaker happened to have a sacrificial virgin on hand, and even then...  
  
"In our case, Midou Ban," Xuan Wu said, keeping his voice dangerously even, "Locks and doorknobs are things that happen to other people."  
  
"Yeah, yeah," said Ban grudgingly as Ginji plopped down in the only chair in the sparsely furnished apartment. "So what did you do," Ban continued, "just walk through the wall?"  
  
"In a manner of speaking," Xuan Wu replied haughtily tossing several braids over his shoulders.  
  
"We got somethin' fer ya," Quing Long practically snarled, "'Cuz Xuan was saying you might've defeated one of the Godai Myo-o, but there was no way you'd be able to awaken the Bodhisattva Kuan-yin and defeat 'im."  
  
This time Ginji cut in. "'Him'? I thought Kuan-yin was a woman."  
  
"If ye paid proper attention to Bhuddist teachings, it's impossible for women to reach the status of a Bodhisattva. Kuan-yin's just a bit of a girly-boy and got all those monks confused with 'is motherin' about they had 'im represented by a lady statue."  
  
Ban tried to repress a snort of laughter and failed. Somehow he got a mental image of Kazuki having something like that happen to him.  
  
"Any way," Xuan Wu continued in a professional tone of voice, ignoring Ban, "We took the liberty, at great risk to our own positions in the heavens, to retrieve you the One Thousand Arms of Love and mercy, and the lotus flower Kuan-Yin rode out of Hell on." He snapped his fingers and Qing Long produced a scroll and a dried flower from somewhere in the recesses of his jacket. "You may receive them now." Xuan Wu finished with a dignified flourish of his hand. With great ceremony, Quing Long passed the scroll and flower to Ginji, although he took a moment to whisper to the blonde retrieval agent.  
  
"Don't mind 'im. He always wants teh do things proper-like. Makes it extra mythic and all."  
  
Ginji took the scroll, examining it in his usual perplexed manner, and beamed up at Quing Long. A flush grew in the God's cheeks and he scratched his nose in embarrassment (although he quickly returned to Xuan Wu's side when he felt Ban's glare boring into him like a pair of daggers).  
  
"You have the other two treasures, I assume?" Xuan Wu said as Qing Long tried to make himself as inconspicuous as possible (quite the task considering he was about as inconspicuous as a neon pink advertisement sign in a cloudy midnight in the middle of the desert).  
  
Ban nodded in response, pulling the broken hilt and unwound rope from his pocket. "They're broken though," he waved them to emphasize his point by displaying their brokenness. He gave a yelp and jolt of surprise the blade sprung from the hilt in a jet of flame and the rope wound itself back up. Xuan Wu and Qing Long both exchanged significant looks.  
  
"Alright, note to self, don't wave around mythical weapons of the Gods, they might try to kill you." Ban gasped, hefting the sword experimentally. Ginji had rushed to his side, already quick to fuss over him.  
  
"Ban-chan, did it burn you?"  
  
Ban shook his head. "No, it's quite cool actually." He gazed down at the flickering blade, blue flames licked his knuckles but left no burns or welts. He did not even feel their heat.  
  
"It is yours," said Xuan Wu getting up to leave. "Until you pass it on to someone, or have it wrested from your grasp, the blade of Fudo Myo-o is in your command. We will see each other again, but for now I bid you farewell." In a swirl of black smoke he had vanished.  
  
Quing Long also stood and gave a long-suffering gaze at the Get Backers. "He's always like that. Melodramatic if you ask me. Well, gotta get going too. Ciao." There was a swirl of greenish blue smoke, and Quing Long was also gone.  
  
Ban and Ginji stood in silence, watching with eyes wide as saucers as the smoke cleared. Ban was the first to break the silence;  
  
"On a rating of one to ten of our weird encounters, how would you rate that one, Ginji?"  
  
"I'd give it a solid eight."  
  
"Not including all the times Akabane has attempted to get in your pants by displaying his affection through trying to slice you to tiny bits."  
  
"Ten."  
  
"That's better."  
  
---------------  
  
Maria's little shop pretty much ran itself. She had her own handful of regulars who knew what they were looking for and how to use it, and they knew that Maria would know if anything was stolen. New customers were a rarity. When one arrived they were usually middle-aged women that had grown their hair long and didn't shave under their arms because they thought it separated them from the crass consumer driven society. They also wore too much hand beaten silver jewelry covered in Celtic runes even though the only thing they knew about the Celts was that they had runes. These were women who liked to call themselves witches in a hope to sound more alluring and mysterious and maybe attract a younger boyfriend. When they wandered into Maria's shop they stayed a long time, examining the merchandise, but when they left, they never came back.  
  
Maria ran a selective business.  
  
Sometimes she would have Mei work at the counter, which struck Maria's customers as odd. Mei looked out of place in the midst of the shop with her tie-dye hair and Technicolor fashion sense. The fact that she wasn't very good with magic had lost her whatever respect the customers might have given her despite her appearance. Maria had quickly decided the shop was not for Mei. Instead, the apprentice worked as a sort of maid for Maria. She earned her own wages by keeping the place tidy and from falling down on itself. Mei knew it was important for the apprentice to do a certain specified service to the master (in this case, mistress), but she still couldn't help but to bitterly refer to herself as the "hand-maid Mei" when she was alone and carrying out one of her long, one-sided conversations.  
  
The mop made a squidging sound as it was brought wetly down onto the kitchen floor. Maria strictly forbade Mei to use magic when she was not around (lest the mop or other cleaning things become some sort of monstrous, man-eating creature which, given Mei's erratic and uncontrollable spurts of power was quite likely to happen), and so the chores around the house were done with elbow grease. Mei was halfway through the last stage of her daily routine and the part of the kitchen she had finished gleamed in the gray light pouring in through the window. Maria was down at the shop, which would strike many people who did not know Maria as odd. This sort of blizzard would keep anyone, even the most dedicated workers, at home. But Maria was a witch, and when it came to witches who ran businesses and their customers, weather was something that happened to other people.  
  
Mei stepped back, wiping her brow with a red kerchief she wore in her hair and leaning heavily on the mop, she beamed triumphantly at her work. Despite her occasional grumbling, she was quite good at housework, and there was something satisfying, something real, about a clean floor that she didn't find in winding the complexities of time and space in the lattices of a crystal. She hardly noticed the figure behind her when a club landed on the back of her head. But by then it was too late.  
  
---------------  
  
Doctor Akabane Kuroudo all dressed in black was reading a newspaper on the subway. Those who knew Akabane (or those who at least knew he had his own car. Several cars in fact; all sleek black foreign imports that could exceed 200) would find it strange that such a man rode the subway. But he did. It wasn't because he needed to physically get from point A to point B. He could make his own way. He just enjoyed observing the heavily crowded underground and all the interesting people that rode it.  
  
Today it was nigh empty except for a few homeless men who had made an executive decision to stay alive and warm riding the trains rather than freeze to death in the blizzard. Akabane was paying them no mind. They were busy passing around a can full of something that may have smelled like hard gin and then again may have smelled like old cat urine. Akabane was keeping his distance. As a doctor he was a stickler for cleanliness and proper hygiene. As a serial murderer he was still a stickler for cleanliness. He'd always disinfect his scalpels and other various weapons before proceeding to kill as efficiently and as violently as he could. After all, he didn't want his victims to get tetanus.  
  
There was the sudden squeal of brakes and the whole train rolled to a halt at the platform. Outside the train there was a noise of panic and general commotion among the small number of people out and about in the snowstorm. Intrigued, Akabane stepped off the train onto the platform and weaved through the assembled crowd like a snake through tall grass. The driver was standing down at the train , ashen faced and trembling.  
  
"Thirty seven years driven this train and I ain't never seen nothin' like it! Just flew off the platform, couldn't stop in time... tried... but couldn't... poor li'l thing pro'lly never saw what hit 'er."  
  
Akabane looked past the driver at the sad little heap on the tracks. It was a girl, no older than sixteen with straight hair that came down to her earlobes and dyed a florescent shade of purple. The clothes, seen through the massive bloodstains, were also brightly coloured. Not too far from the crumpled little body, not unlike the kind house workers wore to keep their hair out of their face, was a red kerchief.  
  
Akabane turned to leave and saw a man in a black and gray pinstriped business suit walking rather hurriedly up the stairs out to the blizzard above. Akabane Koroudo smiled in a serpentine manner, and followed.  
  
Bai Hu was right when he said things were only just about to get interesting.  
  
---------------  
  
End of Intermission  
  
---------------  
  
Ai's rambling: Sorry this has taken so long for those who've been enjoying this. I've been ultra busy with college applications, competing in scholastics awards in CT and the art of harmony contest for Coca Cola (one of which I got a gold key for my portfolio, the other I am one of the 12 winners for the greater Boston area so w00t! Go me! I guess I must be doing SOMETHING right * brags some more *), keeping my big head afloat in the ocean of work piled up (I THOUGHT HIGHSCHOOL SENIOR YEAR WAS MEANT TO BE EASY!!!1!!111!!11!!!!!) and most importantly attempting to have a social life. So it's been stressful. Sorry this part was so short. I wrote it in an afternoon when I miraculously had some free time (actually I should have been reading Hamlet) and decided to make it an intermission to the big, important stuff that happens next. Stick around. I promise I'll have the next chapter up at least within the month. 


	7. Chapter 6: Dead or Alive

Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue, don't have any money any way.  
  
A/N: First off, I'd like to thank everyone who's been commenting on this and helping to feed my already over sized ego. Second of all, I'd like to apologize to those who have been enjoying this for being an absolute prick and taking my sweet time about updating. For the standard cliché, this is the beginning of the end of this fic. Certain characters who have only been ominous shadows in the background are about to get introduce, and the shit is really going to hit the fan for the Get Backers. The coming chapters are going to be a lot of fun to write, in other words. Anyway, enough of my rambling, on with Part Six: Dead or Alive  
  
---------------  
  
All around the city, snow was beginning to melt. The blizzard three days ago had been winter's final dramatic breath before giving way to the warmer temperatures of spring. The wet pavement gleamed black in the warm sun. Muddy brown water was flooding into drains and the city dwellers trudged through slush and sand. The Get Backers were at a payphone outside the library after spending the entire morning carefully researching Chinese mythology. They needed to speak with Mei about a little brown parchment that had been casually slipped into one of their books by someone Ban presumed to be Bai Hu. Maria had picked up on the other end.  
  
"Dead." Ban repeated hollowly to Ginji what Maria had said over the phone and replaced the receiver.  
  
"The phone at the shop?" Inquired Ginji. "There must have been a power outage when you were talking to her."  
  
"No," Ban said, his expression unreadable. "Our client is dead." His hand was still poised on the phone, as if he was silently debating whether or not to call Maria back and tell her she was a bad liar. But he didn't. While Maria didn't exactly subscribe to any set of morals or ethics that applied to the rest of the world, she would never lie to Ban. Especially not about something like this.  
  
Ginji was standing in a stunned silence. So that was why they hadn't been able to get into contact with Mei for over three days.  
  
"Ba......... Ban-chan, that's a rotten joke." Ginji forced a shaky laugh as if to emphasize his point.  
  
"I'm not." Ban replied. "I'm not fucking joking!" There was the crunch of plastic and aluminum as Ban put his fist through the public telephone. The person who had been standing behind them, waiting anxiously for the phone was about to protest about Ban's vandalism, but decided wisely against it before taking a few nervous steps back and then sprinting off to go find a different one.  
  
Ginji took one look at Ban's face, contorted in frustration, and knew he wasn't joking.  
  
"H-how?" Ginji managed.  
  
"Train. Fell off a platform going to visit Maria at her shop." Ban made a gesture by bringing both hands together in a violent collision. Ginji winced at the resounding smack. His partner nodded.  
  
They stepped back into the library, neither saying a word, and headed back to their table to put away the books they had strewn across it. Akabane was sitting at the table when they got there, cheerfully perusing a copy of "The Story of Lady White: A Japanese Translation".  
  
"Pushed." Said Akabane setting down the book. Ginji took cover behind Ban, his face having gone pallid the instant he recognized the wide-brimmed black hat. Ban also seemed to have lost all color when the doctor had greeted them so unusually.  
  
"What are you talking about, Jackal?" Ban snarled, but quietly. The library lady had already told the Get Backers off earlier for being noisy. Ban didn't know which was worse: Ms. Takarada, a formidable old woman who was as wide as she was tall and glared like a vulture from behind a pair of horn rimmed spectacles, or Akabane Kuroudo, a man who really did know 150 useful things to do with a bucket of blood. Maybe even more.  
  
"The girl. She didn't fall. She was pushed. Thrown to be more accurate. She was already unconscious at the time." Akabane seemed to unfold as he stood, like a skeleton in a biology lab, and carefully set the books back on their respective shelves. "Doing a little research I see, boys?" He remarked in an offhand sort of way.  
  
"Just what the Hell are you talking about? And what we're here for is none of your business."  
  
"No, no," Akabane trailed off absentmindedly, opening a book on Feng Shui and flipping casually through the pages. "I suppose it's not. But as the saying goes, I know something you don't know." He slammed the book shut. "What do you say to me buying you gentlemen a drink?"  
  
Ban and Ginji exchanged looks. On one hand, Akabane had information about their mission, which Ban and Ginji were still uncertain if they'd be completing now that their client was dead. On the other hand, this was Akabane Kuroudo.  
  
"No thanks," said Ban a bit testily. "We have enough to be getting on with."  
  
Akabane raised a brow.  
  
"Oh, and here I thought you'd be interested in why Mei was murdered, especially since the man after the artifact would need a young witch to make the tears operate."  
  
Ban's fist clenched. "What are you getting at?"  
  
"Let me buy you a drink and you'll find out."  
  
---------------  
  
The bar was smoky, and every claustrophobic's nightmare. And Akabane was leading the Get Backers to a secluded booth that, in Ginj's opinions was Not A Good Thing. A mess of black and white hair told Ginji that an all too familiar God already occupied the booth.  
  
Bai Hu stood up and nodded to Akabane. "I thought it might be you, Kuroudo- san. Ah, Amano Ginji-san, it is good to see you again."  
  
Ginji shrunk away from the grinning Bai Hu, smiling back sheepishly. Ban glowered.  
  
"I remember you." He said curtly, eyeing the tiger God who looked rather awkward in his navy blue business suit. "You came by Maria's a couple of times when I still lived with her."  
  
Bai Hu beamed. "I'm impressed, Midou Ban-san. You were very young then. You have a good memory." He looked at the assembled trio, still smiling. "But please, where are my manners? Have a seat, everyone. Let's have drinks and get down to business."  
  
Ban and Ginji sat down, opposite Akabane and Bai Hu, Ginji shrugging off the jacket Mei had given him. There was a terrible awkward silence, finally broken when the tiger God cleared his throat.  
  
"You are aware that even with your client's death, it is necessary that you continue with the mission." The smiles and cheer had vanished from Bai Hu's demeanor. He was talking to Midou Ban.  
  
"If we're not getting paid, it's not our problem," Ban replied nonchalantly.  
  
"Ban-chan..." Ginji started, but trailed off. This wasn't his area of expertise, but he felt slightly obligated to help get the tear back, especially since Mei had given him such a nice jacket.  
  
"Whoever killed Mei got the tear off of her already," Ban continued. "Maria told me she couldn't find the earring on Mei anywhere. Basically, we're too late. Whoever killed Mei has probably already made their wish to become universal dictator or whatever."  
  
"No," Akabane cut in, grinning cheerfully. "I caught up with one of the girl's killers and the reason she's dead is because they couldn't find the tear on her. Since she was no longer the tears' carrier, she was useless and could be disposed of."  
  
Ban's eyes narrowed. He didn't like where this was going. "So who has it now?"  
  
"Amano Ginji-san, you might want to check the breast pocket of that jacket. Mei must have left you a little present."  
  
---------------  
  
"That little midget WITCH!"  
  
The door to the apartment slammed shut behind Ginji and Ban put his fist through a wall. "Stupid, stupid, STUPID GIRL!" He slumped forward, resting his forehead beside the dent in the wall, feeling very confused and angry. Mei's death had struck a nerve in him. While the girl wasn't what one would call defenseless, she was pretty naïve and harmless, and that made killing her senseless. A senseless sacrifice for someone's greed. Someone by the name of TaiYi. But who was this TaiYi? And why had Mei left the remaining tear in the jacket she had given Ginji? Ban blinked, his head shooting up as he remembered his partner.  
  
Ginji was sitting on the couch staring down dejectedly at the earring.  
  
"The backing of it fell off, she must have put it in here for safe keeping." Ginji's voice was small and miserable. He didn't like it when people died.  
  
Ban slumped down on the couch beside his partner with a heavy sigh and rested a hand on the blonde's head.  
  
"Don't let it get at you. Our client is dead, our job is done."  
  
"But we haven't gotten back the second tear! Ban-chan!"  
  
"It's not our problem anymore. Look, we'll give this one back to Maria tomorrow and then..."  
  
"...and then?"  
  
Ban was silent for a moment. He had wanted to continue with the mission, he had wanted to have a wish granted. He hadn't wanted Mei to die. It was unfair. But life was unfair.  
  
But did that really make it okay? To just drop the job and walk away? All that work they had done, the fight with Fudo Myo-o, two Gods risking their positions in the heavens to give them treasures, the help from Bai Hu...  
  
It was so much easier to drop it and move on. But then again...  
  
...it wasn't.  
  
He could brood on this for hours, but the look on Ginji's face was enough to bend his iron will as if it were made of warm wax. Even if he dropped the mission, Ginji wouldn't. The blond would see it through to the bitter end if need be.  
  
Sometimes Ban wondered who really had more pride in their business.  
  
"C'mon Ginji. Let's head down to the Honky Tonk. There's something I want to ask Natsumi."  
  
Ginji beamed. "I knew you'd come around to my way of thinking!"  
  
"You didn't even say anything," Ban retorted giving the blond a shove. Ginji shoved back and threw his arms around Ban's neck.  
  
"Did I have to?"  
  
"Ch. Idiot."  
  
Ginji grinned.  
  
---------------  
  
"Look, you knew what the end of the riddle meant, Natsumi! Out with it!"  
  
Natsumi had been struck by another fit of the giggles and was completely unable to talk. She couldn't even look at the infuriated Ban and the politely confused Ginji and say it. It was too much.  
  
"Paul, you might want to have Natsumi take a drug test. I think she's been smoking something." Ban said matter-of-factly.  
  
Paul did not look up from his newspaper. It was obvious he was privy to whatever she was laughing about "I can't imagine what's so funny."  
  
Ban responded to this with a glare, but once again turned to Natsumi.. "C'mon, stop laughing!"  
  
"Natsumi-chan," Ginji pleaded, "We really need to know. Mei-chan's been murdered and things have gotten really bad."  
  
The laughter stopped. Even Paul looked up from his newspaper.  
  
"Murdered? That little kid? Why?"  
  
"I think they killed her 'cuz they couldn't find the tear they had missed, which was inconveniently in the pocket of the jacket she gave to Ginji." Ban jerked his thumb at Ginji who had obstinately refused to take off the neon coloured jacket.  
  
Natsumi's hands flew up to her mouth. She was dumbstruck. "I... how...?"  
  
"Someone pushed her off a platform in the underground. Now she's a smear on the train tracks."  
  
The young waitress visibly winced. It sounded more than a little unpleasant.  
  
"So you're still sticking with the mission?" She inquired. "Even though you're client's dead?"  
  
Ban nodded. "Yeah. We have the other tear and I think Ginji and I could both really do with getting a wish or two granted. So what's the answer to the end of the riddle?"  
  
"Well," she hesitated, setting down a glass that she had been about to polish. "It was kinda obvious after Ginji was talking about the whole Yin Yang thing and how you two are like it. So I figured it would be a couple, like you and Ginji. It's the whole 'you and Ginji' thing that was funny. It was just a bit too much shounen-ai manga that my friends read that put it into my head. You'd sort of be like Dee and Ryo from Fake... or maybe those two guys from Lesson XX... no... hm... what couple was it that you reminded me of... not Yuki and Schuichi because..."  
  
"Um... Natsumi-chan...?" Ginji interrupted the brief musing, tapping the girl lightly on the shoulder. "What are you talking about?"  
  
"Shounen-ai," Natsumi explained.  
  
Ban was long gone, his face buried in his hand either in embarrassment, or frustration, or probably both, as Natsumi attempted to explain shounen-ai to an already clueless Ginji who's extent of manga knowledge encompassed a bit of Ranma ½ and the manga remake of X-men. Ginji had often ranted about how cool Storm was. She was his favourite character and he often wondered aloud how she got her eyes to go all white.  
  
"C'mon, Ginji. We have work to do." Ban grabbed his partner by the collar of his jacket and dragged him out the Honky Tonk while Natsumi waved cheerfully in farewell.  
  
"Jesus, get you talking to a woman and you never shut up."  
  
Ginji grinned slyly at his partner. "You're jealous."  
  
"I am not."  
  
"Yes you are, Ban-chan." He hugged the brunette from behind, and Ban automatically seemed to melt. You could only believe so much bullshit before Ginji got under your skin.  
  
"Damn you Ginji," Ban murmured, lightly knocking the blond on the head.  
  
"And you don't mean that," Ginji said knowingly, and Ban laughed. It felt good to laugh.  
  
"C'mon you idiot. Let's go find Bai Hu and tell him we've changed our minds." Ban pulled the driver door of the Lady Bug open and Ginji went around to the passenger's side.  
  
"Any idea where he is?" Ginji asked.  
  
"I have a feeling he already knows we're looking for him so no doubt we'll run into him."  
  
Brief memory stirred in the back of Ginji's mind... something Bai Hu had said about Fridays...  
  
"Ban-chan, it's Friday isn't it?"  
  
Ban nodded. "That's right. I see you finally got the days of the week down pat."  
  
Ginji snorted and leant aggressively against the brunette. "Don't tease me. I just thought, well..."  
  
"Well?" Ban shifted into reverse and pulled the Lady Bug out of her parking spot.  
  
"...Well, it's something Bai Hu mentioned in passing but he said he drank tea with Maria on Fridays. He might be with her. Especially now that her apprentice..." Ginji trailed off, staring hopefully at Ban.  
  
"Aw, crickey, you mean we have to go visit that old hag?"  
  
Ginji nodded. "It'd be worth a shot. You said; it's better to follow an untruth than run around blindly."  
  
"I did say that," Ban mused, pulling out onto the main road.  
  
---------------  
  
"Let me out of here you oversized-pedophile-steroid-taking bitch!"  
  
A fist beat repeatedly against the 12-inch thick ceramic door and the guards were growing exasperated with the prisoner.  
  
"Will she ever shut up?" Said the first guard.  
  
"After the half moon, she'll be silent as the grave."  
  
Another threat came from behind the cell door. "I'm going to beat you so black and blue, your children'll be born bruised!"  
  
The second guard sighed. "At least the other one with that tattoo on her face is quiet. Witches are weird man."  
  
"So did Xiaoyan kill the duplicate?"  
  
"Three days ago, dude. Man, doesn't anything penetrate that thick skull of yours?"  
  
"I was on vacation remember? I got a family. I can't be guarding Tai Yi's stupid witch collection all the time."  
  
"Yeah, well these two should finally be able to seal off those arrogant Gods."  
  
For a moment the only sound was the muffled thumping on the cell door and some general cursing.  
  
"I heard Xiaoyan was sliced to bits a few minutes after he killed the duplicate. That was one of our guy's doings wasn't it?"  
  
"That's what Tai Yi says, but I don't buy it. Do you know any of our guys who leaves a huge bloody 'J' over their victims corpse?"  
  
The silence reigned again, interrupted with an annoyed "Could I please get some food at least?" from the noisy prisoner. A new subject was broached.  
  
"Why that tattoo girl?" asked the first guard, lighting a cigarette.  
  
"Waddya mean?"  
  
"Well, the one girl we ripped off from the old lady has a sister here. Why not use the sister? They suit the poem's description."  
  
"Yin and Yang's harmony? Yeah, I know that. But Mai is working for Tai Yi. Fact of the matter is, I think she's the only one who feels any actual loyalty to him besides Nocha. Tai Yi won't kill her."  
  
"Huh. Well, they were both made from scratch from that old goat, but so was the apprentice and the duplicate and the duplicate turned on us and that Lucifer bastard took the other one to that old woman six years ago. So we gotta use the apprentice and another witch."  
  
"Anyway, Chanka Tan is way over-protective of Mai. If Tai Yi decided to use her in the ritual, we'd probably end up fighting all four of Mai's gang."  
  
"They're all weird. Especially Nocha. Don't want to cross that genetic disaster."  
  
---------------  
  
Mei slumped down against the door. This was a problem. Her magic wasn't working. And this was not due to her usual incompetence, but a strange atmospheric block.  
  
The other prisoner in the cell looked up. "Are you quite finished?" She said sharply.  
  
"You could try helping. I can sort of hear those two out there and they're going to sacrifice us to something-or-another."  
  
The prisoner stood up and stretched. She was a good deal taller than Mei, by over half a foot (but that really wasn't much of an achievement considering).  
  
"It's a waste of time and energy. We'd be better off saving our strength to charge them when they open that door to get collect us than trying to offend them into opening it." She stepped into the light and Mei noticed she had a small tattoo of the star of David under her left eye.  
  
"I know you!" Said Mei standing up instantly. "You're Himiko Kudo, Ban- san's friend!"  
  
"You... know... me? I've never met you in my life." Himiko shook her head.  
  
"Well, not personally. Lady Maria told me about you. When Ban-san used his witch blood to bring some guy back to life."  
  
"Toshiki." Himiko said absentmindedly beginning to pace around the cell, running her fingers over the walls.  
  
"Yeah," said Mei sobering. She sat down on one of the two beds. "I don't think we can count on Ban-san and Ginji-san rescuing us. From what I could hear from the guards, they used a look-a-like of me to make them think I was dead. From what Maria-sama said, Ban-san isn't someone to take a trip to Hong Kong to continue with a mission from a dead client."  
  
Himiko cocked her head in perplexity. "You hired the Get Backers?"  
  
Mei nodded, looking embarrassed. "It's kind of a long story."  
  
Himiko snorted, flopping back down on the bed. "Maria's got Midou read. He wouldn't continue a job for a dead client... not without something in it for him anyway." She paused, staring up at the barred, bulletproof glass window where dim light filtered into the cell. "Ginji is a whole different story though."  
  
"No point in relying on them though," Mei said miserably, "And whatever magic I can do is being blocked. How did they get you down here anyway?"  
  
Himiko seemed embarrassed. "Ah, well... they caught me off guard."  
  
"Oh. Guess we have no choice but to wait for them to open that door. And then what? We just let them lead us off to wherever?"  
  
"Turn around," Himiko commanded suddenly.  
  
"Huh? Why?"  
  
"Just do it." She huffed.  
  
Mei sighed and did as she was told, staring hopelessly at the door. There was a rustling of clothes, a strange wet, sucking noise, and the rustling of clothes again.  
  
"Alright, you can turn around now."  
  
Mei turned and Himiko was wiping a small vial off on her bed sheet.  
  
"Where did you...?"  
  
"You don't want to know," Himiko replied, holding the vial up to eye level. "Just be grateful they didn't do a strip search when they took away my poisons. Spare sleep scent is always useful."  
  
Mei turned pink with embarrassment. "Oh... um... good?" Mei hoped this was the right response.  
  
There was a click of a lock outside their door.  
  
---------------  
  
Maria sat down at the kitchen table with a mug of tea. Bai Hu was seated next to her, and across from them, Ban and Ginji were sipping instant coffee.  
  
"So you've changed your minds?" Said Bai Hu, trying to sound enthusiastic.  
  
Ban nodded.  
  
"I'd have made you do it anyway," Maria said threateningly, peering over her steaming mug.  
  
Ban swallowed, and took another gulp of coffee.  
  
"Mei accidentally left this with me..." Said Ginji, producing the tear from his coat pocket.  
  
Maria took it, examining it thoroughly. "It's the real McCoy alright. I thought those bastards had taken it from Mei. The coroners didn't find it on her when they were doing the autopsy."  
  
---------------  
  
"There's still the matter of the second tear, my little Mei Gui Hau..."  
  
Tai Yi advanced, cupping Mei's face in his hand. Himiko had quickly stashed the sleep scent under her pillow and watched in silence, waiting for the opportune moment. Any funny moves would have the old geezer's bodyguards on her like ugly on a gorilla.  
  
"I said, I don't know where it is," Mei winced, "ow... you ass wipe! Leggo of me!"  
  
"Oh I think you do know where it is, Mei Gui Hau." His voice was sinister, like a devil trying to sound grandfatherly. He tightened his grip on Mei's jaw, lifting her easily from the ground. Himiko's muscles coiled, ready to spring when the opportune moment. Her hand itched to reach under the pillow.  
  
"Owowow! I don't know! I really don't! The backing on the earring it was on broke, so I put it in my jacket pocket and took it home! I don't remember where I put it after I fixed it! Honest! Honest! OW!"  
  
Tai Yi dropped Mei to the ground where she landed on her knees, clutching her jaw.  
  
"I see..." he hissed silkily. "No matter, Mai will find it before the half- moon..."  
  
"I doubt it." Mei said, rubbing the bruised finger marks. "The half moon's tomorrow. For all I know, I might have dropped it in a gutter somewhere."  
  
"If you did," said Tai Yi turning to leave, the two guards already waiting for him outside the door, "You and that other witch will be joining it... in pieces."  
  
Himiko struck like a cobra. The sleep scent was in her hands in an instant, wafting under Tai Yi and the guard's noses. Mei had quickly clamped her hands over her face, holding her breath. Himiko hauled Mei to her feet, and they sprinted out the prison cell into the corridor.  
  
"Which way?" Mei asked from behind her hands as the two guards and Tai Yi crumpled behind them.  
  
"How should I know?" Himiko snapped, looking frantically both ways.  
  
"Let's go right!" Mei suggested, beginning to sprint down the corridor.  
  
"Is that the right way?"  
  
"I dunno, but there's a draft coming from this way and I don't want to accidentally breathe your sleep scent if we go left."  
  
Himiko grinned, placing the sleep scent in its notch on her belt. "You're not as dumb as I thought you were."  
  
"And you're not such a dyke as Maria-sama made you out to be."  
  
"What?!"  
  
---------------  
  
Translations!  
  
Mei-Gui-Hau: rose blossom Okay, Mei's full name means rose blossom, but when she's just going by the short "Mei" it means plum. I think the double meaning is cute ^.^  
  
The first three of Tai Yi's Five (so far only their names are known)  
  
Mai-Gui-Hau: cherry blossom  
  
Nocha Rong: "nocha" = Nataku in Japanese. Rong is a female name, meaning lotus (which in the original legend he used to reincarnate), but old illustrations of Nocha show him to be very, very feminine. So he has a boyish-girly name.  
  
Chanka Tan: In Japanese he is Tomite, one of the only two of Genbu's warriors to get any time in FY. True to legend, his power is to manipulate ice and here he uses that power to protect Mai. "Kyo", his nickname that means 'emptyness', is the kanji mark associated with Chanka Tan and appears on Tomite's back in FY. 


	8. Chapter 7: Field Trip

Chapter 7: Field Trip  
  
Bai Hu set the mugs in the sink, eyes wandering between Maria, Ban and Ginji. From the west dark clouds were brewing. Spring's first rainstorm was on its way.  
  
"I have a hunch as to why they killed Mei." He said finally. "The fact is, they need the blood of two young virgin witches who suit the final verse of that poem I gave you."  
  
Ginji and Ban exchanged looks.  
  
"What do you mean?" Ban asked at last.  
  
"I mean, they need two witches who are the opposite sides of the same coin. Yin and Yang. Harmony. Not just witches, of course. Before the tears were passed to the witch clans, a line of priestesses would guard them. That line is said to have died out, but I am certain there are a few who carry their blood. Feng had always suspected a family name of Kudo to possess a line. The last descendent I hear is a girl. Rather talented with poisons."  
  
Ban lifted his head. Priestesses? Well, that would explain Himiko's powers... but she was more a witch than a priestess.  
  
"Himiko," Maria started, "I met her, a while back. Not over two months ago. Midou, you were living with her and her brother I believe, after you left."  
  
Ban nodded. Ginji was watching him quietly, concern evident. He did not know the whole story, but he knew far more of it than others  
  
"So Himiko is from this line of priestesses?"  
  
"Indirectly. She possesses more witch-blood than anything, but is seems one of her ancestors was a high priestess. A very servant of Huang, in fact. Anyway, Tai Yi, who we have just discovered is behind the theft of the first tear is attempting to seal off all Gods and end any lines of witches. Essentially, to kill all witches."  
  
"That's horrible!" came Ginji's outburst. "Why would anyone do something so cruel?"  
  
"'Why'?" Bai Hu raised a brow. "What reason does hatred and malice need to breed in the minds of men? It is a reason that has no reason. Tai Yi is a man dictated by fear. He has played God and now he will not suffer a witch to live. That is 'why', Amano-san."  
  
"Easy, Bai Hu." Maria soothed, easing the god back down into his seat. She turned to the Get Backers. "Tai Yi is a madman who combines elements of magic and technology to conduct genetic experiments and create humans that possess extraordinary abilities, but are not, by definition, magic. People much like Ginji. I am aware of six of his creations, all who serve him loyally, save one."  
  
"Who?"  
  
For the first time in many years Ban was listening intently.  
  
"Mei." Maria said simply. "I was looking for an apprentice to fill your place, Midou, after you had left. Lucifer did me the favor to get one for me. He brought me a twelve-year-old girl who was grown in a jar, along with two other identical girls. The other two would not leave Tai Yi, but Mei went willingly with Lucifer and became my apprentice.  
  
"It was after that, Tai Yi started his witch collection. He was so infuriated that one of his creations had been stolen from under his nose to become what he hated most, that he decided to snatch girls with witch blood from their homes, cage them, torture them, in hopes of finding Mei's whereabouts. Of course, none of these girls knew Mei. She had removed the second half of her name and took my surname so that Tai Yi would have no power over her. It spared her for six years, it seems, but one cannot hide forever." Maria heaved a deep sigh and Bai Hu continued where she had left off.  
  
"This brings me back to what I was originally explaining. For the ceremony, Tai Yi needs the virgin blood of two witches or priestesses who have opposite personalities. I believe he will use one of the two surviving triplets, probably Mi, and your friend Himiko."  
  
Ban was on his feet in an instant. "If that's the case, I'm going to get Himiko. I swear if those bastards lay a hand on her-"  
  
"Sit down Midou-san." It was a sharp command from Bai Hu. Ban whirled to face him looking mutinous, and Ginji was already at the door. "There is no need to go find Himiko. I know exactly where she is."  
  
"Where?"  
  
"In Tai Yi's research facility in Hong Kong."  
  
---------------  
  
"Left, left, right... left... oh forget it, we're lost!" Mei flung her hands into the air despairingly, staring around the maze-like corridors looking rather hopeless. "Two hours prowling this floor and not hide nor hair of and elevator or stairs!"  
  
Himiko was running her hands thoughtfully over the walls. Something was bothering her.  
  
"This isn't right."  
  
"I know damn well this isn't right. What kind of office building is full of offices but no people, and corridors like a freaking labyrinth?"  
  
"No, I mean..." Himiko stopped, looking around thoughtfully. What did she mean? There weren't any guards. She had expected the place too be crawling with them, but there were none. But that wasn't really what was bothering her.  
  
"Shouldn't this place be full of guards, anyway? What kind of asshole is Tai Yi if he hasn't got cronies coming out of the woodwork?" Mei asked peering around a corner and, satisfied she wasn't about to be bombarded by men in black suits, she continued walking.  
  
"No, that's not what's bothering me. This maze should take care of anyone who doesn't already know their way around. I've just got a weird feeling."  
  
Mei came to halt, and turned to face Himiko. "A cold feeling? Right here?" She patted just below her ribcage.  
  
Himiko nodded, mirroring the motion by placing her hand just above her stomach. "Like icewater... it feels..."  
  
"...Icky?" Mei suggested.  
  
Himiko heaved an exasperated sigh. "Not exactly the best choice of words but... I guess so. Icky." She leaned heavily against the pale walls, and suddenly stiffened. "What the..."  
  
"What's wrong?" Mei asked absentmindedly, peering into an office door.  
  
"The walls are thin... aluminum?" Himiko wrapped her knuckles on the wall. "It's aluminum sheets, I'm sure of it... about five centimeters thick. Mei, hand me one of those big shoes you wear."  
  
Mei obliged, teetering dangerously and Himiko took the shoe.  
  
"What are you going to do?"  
  
"I want to see what's underneath this... it sounds like electricity."  
  
"The wiring for the building, maybe?"  
  
Himiko smiled, the devious smile of someone with a plan. "You said something was interfering with your magic, right?"  
  
Mei nodded. "That's right..." it took a while but she suddenly recognized the smile. "That's right!"  
  
Himiko plowed the shoe through the wall and sure enough, through the hole the wiring could be seen.  
  
"One of these wires is powering whatever is screwing your magic up..." Himiko ripped a piece of sheet metal from the hole's edge. There were coils of wire, thick, black, and serpentine, woven around each other in a sinister tangle. "But which one...? Where is Ginji when you need him?"  
  
Mei peered into the hole... faint memories being disturbed for the very first time in six years.  
  
"That one," she stated, pointing to one of the thicker wires. "It's that one, I'm sure of it... and this one," she pointed to another wire, "Is connected to the generator."  
  
"How do you know that?" Himiko asked, eyes narrowing in suspicion.  
  
"I... I don't know how I know... I just... ungh!"  
  
Mei collapsed to her knees, gripping her head as though struck by a sudden migraine.  
  
---------------  
  
"They're very bad people, witches..."  
  
It was her father's voice. Tai Yi's voice.  
  
"See this wire here? If ever a witch enters our home, this wire powers the machine."  
  
"Machine, papa?" Mai asked. Mi and Mei watched silently as Tai Yi explained the buildings wiring.  
  
"It's a machine that generates a special current of magic to override a witch's power."  
  
"Papa, are witches really that evil?" Mi piped up.  
  
"Of course they are," Mai snapped. "Papa said they are so they are."  
  
"Calm down, Mai-Gui-Hau. You shouldn't yell at your sisters."  
  
Mei remained silent, gazing at the wiring.  
  
---------------  
  
The lights flickered and went out and Mai, Mi, and Mei stood stock-still. The door to the laboratory had opened and a man stepped in. He was tall, he looked like he was in his mid forties, and had long dark hair, and a short black pointed beard. He wore a suit, a pale crème colour and eyed the three girls. Mai stood protectively between the man and her two sisters.  
  
"I'm taking you three from this place, to a new life where your minds will not be poisoned with lies." Said the man calmly.  
  
"Get out!" Mai snarled. Mi had recoiled, taking cover behind Mai, but Mei had slipped out from under her sisters arm. The man looked impressed by this action.  
  
"What do you mean a 'a new life'?" Mei asked, as Mai grappled to pull her back.  
  
"Don't listen to him! He's an intruder!"  
  
"A friend of mine is looking for an apprentice. You three have witch-blood and I am certain you would all be satisfactory for Maria to pass on the secrets of witches."  
  
"Witches? Papa says witches are evil!" Mai snapped, finally managing to drag her sister back.  
  
"Not so evil that he won't resort to using their DNA in his experiments, it seems." Said the man snidely.  
  
"You're lying..." Mai looked incredulous.  
  
"I have no reason to lie. If you do not wish to leave, I cannot make you."  
  
Once again Mei stepped forward. "I'm going."  
  
Mai shot Mei a glare. "Don't be ridiculous, Papa will come after you and kill you if you betray him!"  
  
"I'm going," Mei repeated. "I want to find something out..."  
  
Mi looked as though she was about to step forward as well, but when she saw the expression on Mai's face, she stopped herself.  
  
"Traitor," Mai hissed as Mei approached Lucifer.  
  
They left, Mai's shrieks of "Traitor! Traitor!" echoing the dark corridors.  
  
---------------  
  
"Snap out of it! C'mon!"  
  
Mei was shaken to her senses by Himiko's voice. They were still under the hole in the wall, shards of aluminum scattered haphazardly on the floor around them.  
  
"Huhn?" Mei groaned rubbing her forehead groggily.  
  
"Are you alright now?"  
  
"Yeah," Mei replied hastily. "Yeah... what happened?"  
  
"You looked like you were having a seizure. You fell over and started shaking like mad, and then you muttered something about wanting to find something out."  
  
"Weird," Mei murmured, still rubbing her head.  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"I dunno... help me up?"  
  
Himiko obliged, hauling Mei to her feet. "Okay now?"  
  
"I think so. What were we doing again?"  
  
"We were going to short out the wires so you could use your magic to get us the hell out of here."  
  
"Right, right. Anyway, it's these two we need to short out," Mei replied, tapping the two wires.  
  
"Alright," said Himiko, picking up two shards of aluminum, pushing Mei back against the wall opposite the hole. "Stay behind me," she held the shards as Akabane often held his scalpels, and flung them. Her aim was dead on, and the two girls leapt to the ground as a shower of sparks spurt out of the hole. The lights gave a few feeble flickers and dimmed, but did not go out.  
  
"Wow," Mei exclaimed as the sparks and noise abated, "Where'd you learn to do that?"  
  
"A doctor showed me. C'mon, someone would have heard that. Let's go."  
  
As if on cue, there was a thunder of footsteps from down one of the corridors, and the sound of raised voices. Himiko dragged Mei into one of the empty office rooms, locking the door behind her.  
  
"Let's hide in that cupboard!" Mei whispered to Himiko, indicating the small cupboard by the desk.  
  
They had managed to squeeze in and shut the doors behind them as the muffled voices outside the office room indicated that a small group of people had arrived at the hole.  
  
"None of these offices have been used..." Himiko whispered, staring at a small box, full of empty files.  
  
"They won't be. They're just for appearances..." Mei replied knowingly.  
  
"How do you know all this?"  
  
"I... I think I've been here before... I can't really remember... it just feels familiar, and there are things I recognize, even have memories of..."  
  
"Look," said Himiko desperately, like she was trying to remind herself that sometimes in some places there was such things as logical, reasonable and sane people, "Let's not think about this... I think we should focus on escaping. Can you use your magic now?"  
  
Mei nodded. "I think so... I don't feel the block at the back of my head..." She closed her eyes and concentrated. Slowly, a glow of pale blue light emitted from her fingertips. She grinned. "ET phone home!"  
  
"Good," said Himiko, grinning. "Let's get the hell out of here."  
  
---------------  
  
"So Tai Yi is going to use Himiko and one of Mei's sisters and the two tears of Zhu Que for a ceremony that will completely wipe out all witches?" Ginji felt confused about this. He couldn't see what the point of killing witches was.  
  
"Yes... He'll also use the four treasures you collected which is why we had you get to them first. I don't think he'll use Mai in the ceremony. She's far too loyal to him and he has few who show true loyalty. I think it will be Mi then. Perhaps Yiku would fit, but she's far too young... he hasn't tapped fully into her powers so she'll probably be spared... for now anyway..."  
  
"And Himiko is in Hong Kong, right? How the fuck are we supposed to get to Hong Kong?" Ban snarled furiously.  
  
"Ah," Bai Hu smiled. "Now there, I can help you."  
  
---------------  
  
Shido had been working around Madoka's house when he heard a clatter from upstairs. Setting down the broom, he hurried up the steps to go investigate the noise, hoping Madoka had not tripped and hurt herself. Shido had soon come to realize that even though she was quite good at maneuvering, a misplaced stool, or upturned rug could catch the girl off guard and send her toppling.  
  
Mozart gave an urgent bark, and was suddenly silenced after a yelp of pain.  
  
That did not sound like Madoka had just tripped.  
  
Shido sprinted up the stairs, weaving through the corridors before bursting into Madoka's bedroom. What he saw made his blood boil with rage.  
  
There were four of them... young. The oldest girl wasn't much older than sixteen, but had a definite air of age about her. She was tanned, and had the gaunt look of someone who lived their life malnourished. She was holding Madoka in a headlock and had her hand over the girl's mouth so she couldn't cry for help. The youngest seemed about nine. She had dark hair that fell over one eye and had knocked out Mozart with what appeared to be a gold plated staff. There were two men; one was about eighteen, the other only in his early twenties. They were tearing the room apart, searching for something. Shido's sudden arrival had not caught them off guard.  
  
"Dammit Chamka-tan, I told you to take the mutt out first so the retriever wouldn't be alerted!" The older girl growled.  
  
"Right, right," the one called Chamka-tan grumbled. "Bloody nag, you are, Mai." He pulled a gun from the recesses of his vest and pointed it without looking at Shido.  
  
"I guess your not 'Kyo' anymore, hm?" Said the older man. He had long black hair tied in a ponytail, with blond fringes on either side. A guitar case was strapped to his shoulder.  
  
"Whatever," Chamka-tan replied, and squeezed the trigger.  
  
---------------  
  
"Wooo-ooow! Ban-chan!"  
  
The small jet was everything Bai Hu had promised. It was spacious, luxurious, and smelled vaguely of perfume. Ban had to admit, he was impressed.  
  
"Bai Hu-san," Ginji bounded cheerfully over to the tiger god, "This is amazing! We get to go to Hong Kong to rescue Himiko in style!"  
  
Bai Hu had earned a hug from the blonde which he didn't seem to know how to respond to. He looked rather like a deer caught in headlights instead of the usual feline expression.  
  
"Ban-chan, Ban-chan, can I sit by the window? Please? By the window?" Ginji exclaimed, plopping down into the cushy chair without waiting for Ban's response.  
  
Ban sighed, sinking down into the chair beside Ginji. He was pleased his partner was so enthused, but he was also exhausted and worried sick about Himiko.  
  
"Ban-chan," Ginji gave Ban a look of concern, "I know you're worried about Himiko-chan... but we'll get her back safe and sound. Cheer up."  
  
"I'm not worried about Himiko," Ban lied. "I'm more worried about the people that kidnapped her."  
  
Ginji laughed, and was probably about to steal another kiss from Ban when he saw something, or someone, that made the color go from his face.  
  
"My, gentlemen, I am delighted to see we'll be working together again."  
  
Ban's head jerked around so fast at the sound of Akabane's voice that he nearly gave himself whiplash.  
  
"What are YOU doing here?" Ban exclaimed.  
  
Ginji only seemed to manage a stuttering "A... A... Aka... B... .Ba... Bane-san!"  
  
"Goodness," Akabane replied silkily, "such manners. Tut, tut. Bai-Hu-san hired me to transport you two to Hong Kong. I'm sure you'll find the trip... delightful." The black-clad man tipped his hat. "Anyway, good afternoon boys. We'll be seeing a lot of each other on this job, I imagine."  
  
And without another word, he glided away like some sort of eerie phantom.  
  
Before Ginji and Ban could get their bearings, Maria trotted up to them.  
  
"Ban, Ginji, sweeties, have you seen Bai-Hu?"  
  
"He's up front with Akabane," Ban replied automatically.  
  
"You mean that creep with the funny hat?" Maria asked incredulously. "Never mind. I'll wait out here until he comes out to ask him."  
  
"What, you're not coming along too, are you?" Ban looked utterly scandalized.  
  
"But of course," Maria stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "It is my job to avenge my apprentice. You just worry about that tear."  
  
The engine gave a loud roar, the propellers on the wings whirring furiously. The plane vibrated as Maria settled down in the seat across from the Get Backers, ignoring Ban's protest.  
  
"Ooh, that feels nice!" She purred luxuriously, in reference to the plane's vibration.  
  
Ban looked as though he were about to be sick while Ginji turned a vivid shade of red.  
  
"Hag! I just ate! I don't need to vomit it up, thankyouverymuch!"  
  
Maria moaned, enjoying tormenting her former student.  
  
---------------  
  
Shido had only just avoided the shot, and there was now a smoking hole in Madoka's wall that could have been Shido's head.  
  
Well, it was smoking, but it wasn't a hole.  
  
Instead it was a large lump of ice, steaming cold in the house's warmth.  
  
"Dry ice," said Chamka-Tan cheerfully, as if he were explaining a silly joke over tea, "my personal specialty."  
  
"Stop bragging and finish him off." Mai snapped. "We need to find that other tear."  
  
Chamka-Tan sighed deeply, cocking the gun. "Sorry mate. No hard feelings, but me orders is orders." He winked, grinning like a cat with cream. "Don't want to disappoint the missus after all."  
  
"Who's your 'missus', Kyo?" the youngest girl barked. She had a scratchy voice, like she had been breathing dust most of her life. "Certainly not Mai!"  
  
"Stop wasting time. I want this done and over with." Mai ordered, tightening her hold on the struggling Madoka. But something in Shido's head had clicked. He had a faint outline of a plan.  
  
"You're looking for the second tear? A sort of earring with a transparent gem on it?" He asked suddenly.  
  
Chamka-tan's finger on the trigger stopped abruptly. Mai gave him a dangerous look, and shoved Madoka at the man with the guitar case who held her fast.  
  
"You know where the second tear is?" Mai hissed stepping catlike towards Shido.  
  
"Let Madoka go, and I'll tell you everything I know!"  
  
Madoka managed to get her head free from the guitar man's grip and called to Shido "Don't tell them! You'll put your friends in—mmph!"  
  
Shido didn't listen. He wasn't going to sacrifice Madoka just so Ban and Ginji's job could go smoothly.  
  
"I don't have the earring, if that's why you're here. Like I said to Tai Yi, I only managed to collect one of the two. From what I can tell, the other one is still at the home Haruki and I retrieved it from."  
  
"It wasn't there," Mai said evenly, "we checked." There was something positively ominous about how she said the last bit.  
  
"Then I can't help you and you're trespassing in Madoka's home."  
  
Mai looked taken aback for a moment, but the expression soon changed to a smug admiration.  
  
"Willing to sacrifice anything as long as your girl lives, hm? Well... that's honorable." She turned to the two other men who were looking rather bored. The guitar man was holding Madoka still, her expression one of terror and Chamka-tan was cleaning his gun, whistling cheerfully. "XiXi, Kyo, we'll take him and the girl to Tai Yi. Perhaps father can get him to talk. And Yi- Ku?" Mai jerked her thumb at Shido and Yi-Ku grinned, raising her staff.  
  
"I TOLD YOU, I DON'T--! Ungh..."  
  
There was the thud as the staff made contact with Shido's head. Madoka must have managed to free herself from the guitar-man's grasp because the last thing he heard before everything went dark was her scream.  
  
---------------  
  
End of Part 7.  
  
---------------  
  
Ai: Bwahahahaha! Shido-Torture time! (Why is it I always like to torture the redundant grumpy character...? I don't know... I love Shido!) Well, once again this fic has gotten longer than I've planned it to get, so it's probably going to take another two more chapters and an epilogue to get all this shizzle resolve. * Bows repeatedly * I'm sorry!  
  
Oh, picked up volume 2 of Tokyopop's translation of Get Backers.  
  
...  
  
Mr. UNSTOPPABLE...?!!!!! .  
  
Oh well, enjoy part 7! I'll try to write faster O.o Spring vacation coming up... maybe I can push out another chapter then. Teehee...  
  
Shido: I hope you are eaten by large carnivorous rodents with very sharp teeth. 


	9. Chapter 8: Hong Kong Beat

Chapter 8: Hong Kong Beat  
  
The repairmen for the wiring didn't know what hit them. The fireballs were about the size of basketballs and caused enough damage and confusion for Himiko and Mei to escape and buy them more time before the building's power was restored.  
  
"Good work," Himiko said, leaving a sleep scent trail behind them.  
  
Mei nodded, but did not speak. She had a sick feeling in her gut that had nothing to do with any magic field's interference and thought it better that she kept her mouth closed.  
  
They rounded another corner and nearly ran smack into Tai Yi at the head of a group of burly looking men in black suits and dark glasses.  
  
There was a moment of stunned silence as the two parties stared at each other, before Tai Yi, his face a reaching a vivid shade of puce shrieked:  
  
"Get them!"  
  
Himiko grabbed Mei by the collar of her shirt and they sprinted away from their pursuers. They dodged around corners, trying to loose the guards' trails and burst through doors into more maze-like corridors.  
  
"Catch them! Catch them! But don't kill them! They need to be alive for the ceremony!" Tai Yi's shrieks followed them throughout their chase, and they heard some guards ordering each other to use tranquilizer rounds.  
  
"Dammit," Himiko cursed, "There's no way we'll get away from them if we can't find a way off these floors!"  
  
Mei had turned a pallid shade of green, her brow covered in a thin sheen of cold sweat. "This way," she croaked, grabbing Himiko's arm and dragging her in the opposite direction she was about to go.  
  
"That way? Are you daft? That's a dead end!"  
  
But instead of the collision Himiko had expected when they came in contact with the wall Mei was running towards, there was a slight chilly feeling, but other than that the wall gave as much resistance as a shadow. They were on a landing on a flight of stairs.  
  
Himiko stared at Mei a moment, eyes wide in surprise. The smaller girl was being violently ill over the stair rail.  
  
"Are you alright?" Himiko rested a hand on Mei's quivering shoulder.  
  
"Listen," Mei croaked, spitting over the rail and looking urgent. "Get out of this place! Warn Ban and Ginji to get rid of the other tear and the four treasures they collected and make sure they don't come anywhere near this place."  
  
"The other tear?"  
  
"Ginji will know what I'm talking about when he looks in the coat I gave him," she turned her blanched face to the wall they had just run through where the sound of footsteps getting closer was audible. "Go! Hurry! There'll be another wall like this on the third floor landing. Pass through it and you'll end up in a main hall where there's a desk and several doors. The third door left of the dragon pillar will take you outside, the others are fakes and will imprison you. Don't speak to the woman at the desk, she's not real, she'll put you under a spell."  
  
Himiko gave Mei a dubious look, and Mei's expression became more urgent.  
  
"Look, I don't know how I know this... all I know is I've been here before and I'm having weird flashbacks. There's something here I need to do before I get out. I don't know what yet, but please..."  
  
"Alright," Said Himiko finally. The voices and footsteps were getting more audible. "Take care of yourself, Mei."  
  
And Himiko was hurrying down the flights of stairs. Mei watched her until she was out of sight, her breathing becoming more and more shallow, before hurrying as fast as her legs would take her up the stairs.  
  
"Thirteenth floor..." She murmured under her breath. "I need the thirteenth floor... there's something there..."  
  
---------------  
  
Himiko found the main hall easily enough. It was very impressive, if a little unnerving. She did not need Mei to tell her the woman at the desk wasn't real. There was something distinctly mechanical about her movements. In fact, it was the same with the people coming in and out of the building. Every time Himiko tried to follow one with her eyes they'd move into a crowd and disappear from sight. The ones moving in would seem to vanish into walls.  
  
There were five doors, and four pillars in between them. One pillar had a base of a turtle and a snake rising up from it. The second pillar was a dragon... that would be the one she was looking for. To the left of it was a glass door, identical to the other five except for the fact that that was the only door with sunlight coming through. She spared a glance at the other two pillars. A phoenix soaring upwards, its wings flattened at its sides and a tiger on its hind legs swiping at the ceiling. Himiko shuddered, and went out the glass door and into the streets of Hong Kong.  
  
---------------  
  
"Ban-chan, it's hot."  
  
Ban mentally ticked a number off in his mind while gazing sullenly out the limousine window at the heavily crowded streets. "That's the thirtieth time you've said that in three quarters of an hour. Give it a rest Ginji, I know it's hot."  
  
But Ban didn't completely blame Ginji. Hong Kong was hot, crowded, hot, humid, hot, sticky and hot.  
  
Not to mention it was hot.  
  
"Ginji, stop sweating on me."  
  
"But Ban-chan!" Ginji had latched onto Ban's shoulder and was chewing in his usual way of saying 'I want to be spoiled right now and you're not indulging me, so I'm going to punish you, but that's okay cuz you're my Ban- chan and I love you'. Ginji could say a lot with body language but it always finished with 'I love you'. But only recently had Ban figured that out.  
  
Maria, Ban, and Ginji were seated in the back, Maria fanning herself with a cheap souvenir fan that was trying too hard look authentically Chinese with its cheap dragon and phoenix pattern. It was the type of fan vendors sold to gullible tourists, claiming that it was worth every overpriced penny they paid for it when in fact tens of thousands identical fans were sold throughout Hong Kong by vendors claiming the exact same thing, and then happily counting the overpriced pennies the tourists spent. Maria had bought the fan to cool off and it would probably get lost in the disaster area that was her study within the week. Maria was watching Ban and Ginji, too hot and sweaty to express anything more than mild interest while she fanned her cleavage. Ban wished to God she wouldn't do that in the presence of others, but Maria never set much by what other people thought, otherwise she would never have become a witch.  
  
Akabane and Bai Hu were up front; Akabane was driving and Bai Hu was cheerfully chatting with the equally cheerful resident-psychopath.  
  
The AC, Ban mentally cursed it over and over again, had broken down. Even Akabane had taken off his hat and coat and rolled up his sleeves. Bai Hu remained in his navy blue suit however and didn't have a bead of sweat on him but Ban assumed that Gods didn't get hot anyway.  
  
The hotel was one of those expensive ones that Ban had been in a couple of times as a kid and once as an adult and that was when he was disguised as a bellboy. The limousine stopped outside the huge building that was trying as hard as the fan to look authentically Chinese, and succeeding to the same degree. It looked like every westerner's idea of what a Ming Dynasty palace or a Yin Dynasty manor looked like (the architect hadn't actually been consistent in his styling of time periods). And there were lots of dragon sculptures. It was also like the fan in the sense that it was overpriced for what it was, but Bai Hu seemed to be covering the expenses so Ban didn't really care. Bai Hu and Akabane were going to share a double-bed room, Maria had a single-bed suite to herself and Ban and Ginji were to also share a room, although when Bai Hu was asking for it, Ban couldn't quite understand the rapid spoken Chinese. Man, he must be getting rusty. But after that, the lady at the front desk wouldn't stop shooting them odd looks.  
  
"Midou-san, Amano-san, here's the key to your room." Bai Hu said amiably, handing Ban the key. It jingled innocently when it landed in the palm of his outstretched hand. Bai Hu grinned, and slung one arm over Ban's shoulder and whispered so only Ban could hear what the tiger god would say. "This is usually Huang's line of business, but from what Maria told me... well, that room I think will be perfect for you."  
  
THAT, Ban thought every single capitalized letter of it, did not bode well.  
  
---------------  
  
Ban looked around the room. It had literally floored Ginji, who was now, as stated, floored. Bai Hu grinned.  
  
"Like it?" His tone was innocent but his smile would have made Satan look like a saint.  
  
"WE ARE NOT A MARRIED COUPLE."  
  
Ban knew that somewhere up ahead Akabane would be smiling smugly to himself, and he could HEAR Maria cackling as she opened the door to her room. He rounded on Bai Hu, looking furious.  
  
"If you weren't immortal, I swear to God (whichever one, it doesn't really matter, preferably one you despise), I would KILL you."  
  
"You'll thank me in the morning," Bai Hu said lightly and with that he went to go catch up to Akabane.  
  
Ban wanted to rage and storm some more, but his mind was soon taken off that.  
  
"Ban-chan! Check out the wine cabinet!" Ginji exclaimed from somewhere on the other side of the very elaborate canopy bed (with dragon-shaped posts, Ban thought wryly).  
  
Ban grinned. His mood had improved on the spot. "Free booze? Woo hoo! Count me in!"  
  
And he shut the door behind him.  
  
---------------  
  
Mei hauled herself up the last few steps, and collapsed on the landing of the thirteenth floor. Her breathing was coming out in ragged gasps, before she got to her feet.  
  
She had lost the guards. They must have thought that both she and Himiko had gone down, rather than splitting up. It had been a hard and exhausting run up three flights of stairs to get out of sight from Tai Yi and his cronies, and even with the barrier against her magic down, the tide of long buried memories was flooding her mind and making her sick.  
  
Pushing through the wall of the landing, she came into another corridor. This one was small, and led straight ahead to a single door.  
  
It was in there.  
  
Mei pushed forward, and forced the door open. It wasn't locked or anything. Tai Yi must had a magical barrier set up around it and when the frequency blocking out a witch's magic was brought down, the security on the door was lost.  
  
Mei paused as she stepped through, blinked several times, rubbed her eyes, and blinked some more.  
  
The inner dimensions of this room were impossible! She had been standing in a corridor and now she was standing outside a small closed paddock in a huge palace garden. It was an enormous palace and above the sky was clear blue dotted with puffy silvery white clouds. The landscape rolled on into forests and mountains. Mei stepped around the paddock onto the ledge of a steeply sloped hill. Below, there was a village.  
  
Mei knew this spell. It was an advanced version of what Maria had taught her about compressing time into a crystal lattice. That was why so much of Tai Yi's building was made of aluminum! When it came to using this spell on a large scale, metal was more effective than crystals in conducting time. It was slower, yes, but more durable, and ready in large amounts.  
  
Mei ran her fingers over an elaborately carved railing. It seemed solid enough. Tai Yi must have compressed time into the catacomb-like structure of the office building and created a gateway between present Hong Kong with a past.  
  
This, Mei knew, was forbidden magic. Even witches didn't use this spell on this level. Certainly compressing time into a crystal was acceptable. If you were caught in a tight spot and needed time to make a decision or a hasty getaway, shattering the crystal and wrapping the excess time around yourself gave you a suitable chance.  
  
But to open a door between time...  
  
"Our father is really quite the remarkable hypocrite," Said a voice not far behind Mei. She spun around to face a young and very effeminate boy, clad in blue satin. His hair was also blue, tied in a long plait that fell to his waist. He was hovering above the ground by means of two rings below his feet. He had another pair of rings, one around each wrist. In his right hand he carried a spear.  
  
"Nocha," Mei gasped as another memory surfaced.  
  
Nocha and Mei stared at each other for a long time before Nocha looked away first and let out a low chuckle.  
  
"So that's it." He said softly, mostly to himself, and smiling wryly.  
  
Mei didn't get it, and was about to ask but Nocha had read the quizzical expression on her face.  
  
"Why you didn't come for us sooner. That man who took you must have placed a very powerful memory charm on you so you'd forget about your family. Mai thought you were being a coward." His cold demeanor seemed to melt and he drifted towards Mei, resting a welcoming hand on her shoulder. "I'm glad to see my younger sister again, especially after loosing Mi."  
  
And after six years of repressed memories, Mei finally remembered her family. Nocha had been the first; a sexless prototype of merging magic with genetics. Then had come Chamka Tan, who was mostly human; only capable of using hydro-based spells. Like Nocha, he was defective but Tai Yi had kept him alive anyway, as a landmark. Then the triplets had been born. It wasn't the way it should have been, but the addition of witch DNA had caused the egg to split into three. Mai had been the powerhouse, capable of molding time and space to her liking. Mi was like Chamka Tan, mostly human and in Tai Yi's opinion, defective. Mi was only capable of generating low energy currents. And then Mei, the last of the triplets to be born. She was capable of pure witch magic. She had few memories of Yiku, as she had just been born when Mei left.  
  
Tai Yi had HATED Mei for this.  
  
Then Lucifer had come. He had taken Mei away from this place, to a home with a teacher who would love and care for her. And she had forgotten about her family.  
  
Reaching up, she embraced Nocha, sobbing into the blue satin her apologies.  
  
"I knew when I saw you," he said softly in her ear, stroking the violet hair, "that someone had tried to cover your memories of us. Perhaps for your protection so that you wouldn't be killed by us on Tai Yi's orders. I knew that little Mei would never completely abandon us out of cowardice."  
  
"I should have remembered sooner... I should of come back... I'm sorry!" There were great dark blotches on Nocha's shirt where the tears had fallen, and Mei's nose was starting to run.  
  
"You needn't have bothered trying to escape," Nocha continued, while Mei dried her eyes that were now red and puffy. "The ceremony would not have gone to completion. Mai, Kyo, XiXi, Yiku and myself planned to kill Tai Yi when we were to present the four treasures to the high priest."  
  
"Kill...?"  
  
Nocha nodded. "Kill Tai Yi. Yes. Mi, Kyo, Yiku, and his more recent creation, XiXi, were never loyal to him, although they remained because they cared about Mai and myself who were very close to him." He took a deep breath. "Please understand, I still love father dearly. He gave me life, and for that I will always be grateful. But that man that walks in father's body, that speaks with father's voice... he is not Tai Yi."  
  
Mei look perplexed. "An imposter?"  
  
Nocha shook his head. "No. Let me explain. Father did not always hate witches... it was after your birth that his obsession with destroying all witches began. I don't know why it started, but it changed him. He had always strived to create life, then for some reason, he sought to destroy it. He found out about the Tears of Zhu Que, heard they were being protected by a witch, and found out what they could do. He schemed, and schemed, and finally he planned to use them to wish for the death of all witches, and then he would use you and a person opposite to you in a ceremony that would seal the tears away so no one could undo his wish." The boy took a deep breath, his exquisite, doll like face looking tired and sad. Two dark and perfectly arched brows were furrowed with confusion and sadness. "He had planned to use you and Mai in the ceremony, but it called for a virgin and..." Nocha took a deep breath, as if he were in great pain, "Chamka Tan he... he did not want Mai to be killed so he and Mai..."  
  
Mei rested a hand on her brother's shoulder. "You don't have to go on. I can figure that much out."  
  
"None of us have told Mai yet why Chamka Tan seduced her, but it worked. Tai Yi decided against using her, and selected instead another girl of old witch heritage. But by then, Mi was beginning to show her resentment towards this ceremony. She didn't want to see her other sister killed, but you were the only virgin witch with the proper personality type so that turned her openly against Tai Yi. He had her murdered, and used as a decoy to trick your teacher into believing you were dead so that she wouldn't pursue you. I think it was actually seeing one of our family killed that turned Mai and myself against father, but we are Tai Yi's enemies, and we are plotting to end his life so that he will not use the tears to kill witches everywhere."  
  
Mei nodded, taking all of this in. She could believe Nocha because he was incapable of lying. How he had gotten any of this by Tai Yi was beyond her, but he must have somehow managed. She stood back, wiping away the last few tears, her expression determined.  
  
"What do you need me to do?"  
  
Nocha glanced over at a white crane that flew low overhead. "Let me recapture you. Go through the ceremony. Let us deal with Tai Yi."  
  
---------------  
  
Himiko stopped running to catch her breath, and cast a quick glance over her shoulder to see if she was being followed. The large crowd on the side walk was shooting her odd looks, but she paid them no mind, because about two blocks away she saw the flutter of a familiar black trench coat and the tails of an all too familiar white dress shirt vanish into a an elaborate looking hotel.  
  
"My god, they really did come for us..." Himiko straightened, and ran a hand through her hair that was damp with sweat. And then she remembered what Mei had asked her... She needed to talk to Ginji! In a new burst of speed, she sprinted for the hotel.  
  
---------------  
  
When Shido came around, Madoka was sitting beside him, cradling his head in her arms. It took a moment for his vision to come into focus, but he could recognize Madoka by her scent. He raised himself up, Madoka giving a startled gasp, hands searching wildly for him.  
  
"I'm alright," He reassured, and she nodded.  
  
"You have a lump on your head, but nothing seemed damaged," Madoka said abruptly. "Still, I was worried."  
  
Shido glanced around the prison. "Where are we?"  
  
"The older girl, I think her name was Mai, used some sort of strange power to take us to Hong Kong."  
  
"Hong Kong?" Shido's mouth fell open.  
  
"Yes. I think they used magic to get here, because one minute we were at home, and then all of a sudden we were in this building." Madoka stood slowly, running her fingers over the wall. "They'll be coming back. Mai said her boss wants to question you."  
  
"Question me?" Shido looked perplexed.  
  
"They think you know where Ban and Ginji are."  
  
"But I don't! And neither do you."  
  
Madoka nodded sadly. "I know. But they think we're lying."  
  
There was a sudden clicking sound on the other side of the huge door. Shido was on his feet immediately, standing like a wall in front of Madoka. If they wanted to fight, he'd give them a fight.  
  
The man with the guitar heaved the door open, and stepped in. Upon seeing Shido's hostile stance, he quickly raised both hands, in statement of truce.  
  
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, I come in peace mate."  
  
Shido relaxed a little, but he still kept himself between the guitar man and Madoka.  
  
"What do you want?" He said levelly.  
  
"My name," said the man with the guitar, "is XiXi Toppe. I'm here to tell why you're here."  
  
Shido stared at XiXi doubtfully, but the musician seemed unarmed and he kept his hands raised to indicate he was not going to make any sudden movements.  
  
"Listen, this may take a while, but I need you two to sit down and listen."  
  
Shido, still guarding Madoka sat, still keeping himself between XiXi and the violinist.  
  
"My time is limited, before the security cameras come back up, so I'll make this as quick as possible. In a nutshell, Nocha, Mai, Yiku, Kyo and myself are not your enemies."  
  
"Oh yeah?" Shido snarled as the lump on his head gave a painful throb. Madoka rested her hand on his arm.  
  
"Let him explain, Shido-san."  
  
Shido shot XiXi a disgruntled look, but quieted. XiXi nodded his thanks to Madoka who completely missed the gesture because she was blind.  
  
"You see, the five of us are genetic experiments made by the man who employed you to steal the earrings; Tai Yi. We are his personal bodyguards. But recent events, that need not be named, have turned even his most loyal followers; Nocha and Mai, against him. He is no longer using his genius for bringing together those who are gifted with supernatural powers; witches; with those who do not possess the gift, but instead to rid the whole world of those who are gifted. For that, he needs the two stone tears to make a wish that would end the lives of witches everywhere, and then he plans to use the blood of one of his other creations; Mai's sister Mei and this other girl Himiko Kudo in a sacrificial ceremony that will seal the tears away forever so his wish will not be undone."  
  
Madoka looked horrified. "That's terrible!"  
  
Shido agreed, but he still didn't trust this man.  
  
"That's not the worst of it. Tai Yi knows that your friends, the Get Backers, possess the five treasures needed in the ceremony, and he also has a hunch that Mei left the second tear with them, which is why he had us kidnap you."  
  
"He thinks we know where Ban and Ginji are?"  
  
XiXi nodded. "That, and we can use you as hostages to lure them here with the four treasures."  
  
Shido looked thoughtful for a moment. "How would they get to Hong Kong?"  
  
XiXi shrugged. "Wherever there's a will, there's a way. I believe they are friendly with several transporting agents?"  
  
"Friendly isn't the word..." Shido muttered ruefully. Even he had noticed Akabane's advances on Ginji, and while Ban and Himiko had been friends in the past, something had happened that, while Himiko had forgiven Ban for what it was she definitely didn't look like she was going to be forgetting any time soon.  
  
The door to the cell opened again. This time it was Mai, looking panicked and somewhat harassed. Shido thought she looked a bit familiar...  
  
"XiXi, are you done yet? The wiring crew almost has the circuits back up! We can't let the security cameras see you in here!"  
  
XiXi nodded. "We'll be back later. Remember, if you want to get out of here alive, this conversation never happened. We will do all we can to help you, but you'll have to sit tight for a day before we can do anything."  
  
Shido stared back at XiXi, looking caught between fury and resignation. He settled for nodding back his consent.  
  
Mai looked between Shido and Madoka, and XiXi. "Don't discuss what you've been told between yourselves either. We need this plan to go without a hitch for it to work. And Himiko and Mei have escaped it seems."  
  
XiXi's head shot up. "What?!"  
  
"Right," said Mai, "We have to find them. Fast. Let's go, now. The lower floors' power is back up."  
  
The thick door slammed shut behind XiXi in their haste to get out. Shido heard the click of several locks.  
  
"We'll be alright." He said softly, keeping Madoka close to him. "That XiXi... he seems like an asshole, but he wasn't lying."  
  
"Are we going to help them?"  
  
"Just cooperate," Shido replied. "That's the best we can do. But things will be heating up soon. I can feel it."  
  
---------------  
  
Ban lay spread-eagle on the squishy mattress of the post-nuptial hotel bed. His shirt had been discarded somewhere on the floor, and his cheeks were flushed with alcohol. Ginji hovered over him, almost completely undressed and just as rosy cheeked as his partner. Their lips touched again and again in series of delicate exploratory kisses, hands wandering over exposed skin and then seeking out in the rumpled garments the feel of un-exposed skin as well. Ginji, being the more sober at the moment, had taken the lead. Ban gave a little 'mur' of satisfaction when Ginji had found his prize but other than those few quiet noises, they were long past words.  
  
Ginji kicked off his boxers and sidled on top of Ban who drew his, HIS Ginji down so that they were pressed together. Ginji made a little whimper of desperation. He was hot. It was the combined effect of the alcohol, the thermostat being set at eighty some-odd degrees and Ban's little attentions to all the secret and sensitive parts of Ginji's body. A bead of sweat dripped off the tip of his nose, and he panted heavily into Ban's ear.  
  
"This feels good."  
  
---------------  
  
Himiko rounded into the hotel, getting strange looks from a group of elderly tourists from England. She shot them a look that implied that anyone who didn't look away right now was going to meet an unpleasant end. They looked away. Other than the small group, the lady at the front desk and a few bellboys the main hall was otherwise deserted. She hurried for the hotel desk, her face sheen with sweat.  
  
"Did Midou Ban, Amano Ginji and Akabane Kuroudo just check in?"  
  
"I beg your pardon?" said the young woman in unsteady Japanese.  
  
"Midou Ban," Himiko explained quickly. "Tall, blue eyes, white shirt, hair like a sea urchin? His friend is Ginji, blond, spiky haired, bandana, white t-shirt...?"  
  
The woman at the desk turned bright pink. "Oh, yes, them. A man named Bai Hu checked in with them, a European woman, and a man in a black trench coat. Would you like me to tell them you called on them?"  
  
"No," said Himiko. "It's urgent I talk with Ban and Ginji right away."  
  
"But I'm afraid they might be..." the woman saw the disgruntled look Himiko was giving her and her resolve disintegrated. "...Let me find the number for their room." She started rifling through a few papers, while Himiko tapped her feet impatiently. Sparing a glance out the door, she saw across the street a familiar man with steel-blue hair making inquiries of a passerby who suddenly pointed at the hotel door. With a sudden rush of urgency, Himiko looked desperately back at the woman who was still digging through folders and then down at the registration book. She saw Ban and Ginji's name... and a room number. Memorizing the number, she sprinted for an elevator just as Chamka Tan started walking briskly and purposefully towards the revolving hotel doors.  
  
"Hey, wait!" Cried the woman at the front desk as Himiko bowled over a bellboy and disappeared behind the sliding doors of the elevator.  
  
Just as she disappeared, Chamka Tan burst into the hotel lobby and fired at the ceiling.  
  
"Would everyone please remain calm?" His voice echoed off the high marble walls with just a hint of excitement in it.  
  
---------------  
  
"Ah... Ginji, what're you...? Aaaahhhn..."  
  
---------------  
  
"Top floor," Himiko murmured under her breath, "Room 1904."  
  
---------------  
  
Tai Yi stood to his full height, staring down at the unconscious Mei.  
  
"Good work Nocha. As soon as Himiko is recovered we will begin the ceremony. The half moon will be directly opposite the sun in the sky at 6:37 tomorrow. We have a little over eighteen hours. Tell XiXi and Mai to bring me the other two prisoners. We need the four treasures and they know the people with them."  
  
"Sir."  
  
"Oh, and Nocha?"  
  
"Sir?"  
  
"Are you loyal to me?"  
  
Silence.  
  
"Nocha."  
  
Nocha turned, and faced the man.  
  
"My loyalty lies with Tai Yi and only Tai Yi."  
  
A smile curved on the thin, sallow lips.  
  
"I see. Good answer. Be on your way."  
  
"Sir."  
  
---------------  
  
Maria stepped out onto the balcony of her hotel room. A warm breeze rustled her long dark hair, and her fingers clenched hard on the iron rail.  
  
She could see Tai Yi's laboratory about three blocks away. Tomorrow morning, they would infiltrate it, and recover the stolen tear and kill Tai Yi.  
  
Well, the Get Backers would recover the tear, and she was going to wring Tai Yi's neck with her bare hands.  
  
Downstairs she heard a sudden commotion.  
  
---------------  
  
"Ban-chan, what was that?"  
  
Ban looked unconcerned and dragged Ginji back down on top of him.  
  
---------------  
  
Himiko stepped off the elevator onto the landing and made a dash for Ban and Ginji's room.  
  
---------------  
  
End of Chapter 8  
  
Cackles Well, here's the end of part 8 and I'm really really sorry for not updating sooner. Bows and begs for forgiveness I've really been taking my sweet time with this, and I'm sorry, but I've been mega ultra super busy makes more excuses . But it's up! And now I'll work hard to finish it. We're almost at the end and thank you to everyone who's stuck with me so long on this. I think my writing has improved drastically since I first wrote this. I'll be coming up on the one year anniversary of this fic in a little more than a month, so I hope to have it done before then. Thank you again!  
  
Vil: We all want to know more! Wah, I've planned and replanned the ending for this more times than I can count but I will finish it!  
  
Alien21xx: Ah, I lurv cliffhangers (sorry, but the end of this chappie is a whole shitload of them, Sorry!)  
  
Anyway, thank you everyone! I'll post again soon! 


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